Passion
by Leo of Sweden
Summary: Angelus is released to give information about the Beast. But things take a turn for the worse as he escapes, takes revenge on Angel investigations and then heads back to Sunnydale. Season 2&3 of Ats are combined to take place during season 5 of Buffy.
1. Chapter 1 The evil that men do

**The evil that men do**

**This story is my second fanfic. I intend to write this before I finish with my big project "The Morning Star". **

**This is written for all of you Angelus lovers out there;)**

**The story takes place during season 4 of Angel and season 6 of Buffy and is intended as a crossover story. So in my story season 2 and 3 of Ats happens during season 5 of Btvs, a little complicated but I wanted Angelus like he was in season 4 of Ats to crossover, and I really didn't like season 7 of Buffy (season 6 was just as bad but I can work with it). It begins just as Angel investigations have taken Angel's soul in order to get information about the Beast from Angelus. At first some use of the original lines from the show, but the rest is purely my imagination using Joss Whedon and Co's characters.**

**No Copyright infringement intended.**

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><p>The pain was gone. It felt like a heavy shroud that had pressed on his entire body, suffocating him, had been lifted. The agony had been every second, as he remembered the faces and the deeds. Now the memories didn't hurt him, now they gave him strength and pleasure.<p>

He turned on the bench and saw the faces of his little detective club. As he saw their worry, and in some places outright fear, he started laughing. They had really set him free just to get some information out of him? Man, they really were as stupid as they looked.

Slowly they all turned round one after the other and marched out of the cellar, his laughter ringing in their ears. This could really turn into something interesting, he could already sense the doubt in several of them.

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><p>Angelus hummed a little tune to himself as he sat with his back to the wall, eying the camera with a smile. Wesley had been down in the basement for hours, trying to get some information out of him. He had enjoyed every second of it as he planted further seeds of doubt and mistrust in the already disintegrating group.<p>

Then little pretty Fred had come down with some blood for him, did they really think he would be contended with pigs blood? He should have snapped her head instead of talking about it, but if he just killed without any art he was no better than Spike. It was an art to spread the fear and doubt in the minds of people before he finally killed them.

He wanted to tear these people to shreds, one at a time. He wanted to punish them for all the human feelings they had forced on him. But in the midst of all this fury he still felt an undefinable loss, like there was a great hole in his heart that something had left in him. He didn't think it was the loss of his soul as he hadn't felt anything the last time he lost it, it must be the blond slayer's influence on him. The pain of not being around her had never abated in all his time in L.A, and at times it was even more unbearable than the weight of his soul.

He felt an uncontrollable longing to see her again, smelling her, feeling her skin and draining her powerful blood. He had never tasted anything like her in all his time of carnage, she had given him a force that would have made him rampage across the town, tearing everything to pieces, had he not had his soul (and the slightly pressing matter of her dying in his arms).

Should he stay here and play mind-games with these lost little children, or should he seek out the supernova of his mind, his sun and his moon, his worst enemy and his greatest love? Should he find her and haunt her like he had done last time, watching and testing her, unleashing his minions on her night after night? Should he force her into his own darkness until she embraced him as he was, a true lord of darkness?

He smiled to himself as he made up his mind. The children had to be taught a lesson, and then he would seek out the blond force of nature.

But first he needed an army to make his presence known in this town, he could make another one when he got to Sunnydale. He had never had any difficulty in forcing other vampires and demons to do his bidding, and he knew a few magic tricks to get their attention to where he was. Other vampires had to use magic to force their minions into doing their bidding, but he had never needed more than the fear they all felt for him. He still cherished the memory of how he had gotten one of them to let herself burn up in the sunlight just to send a message to Buffy. That had been a really good day.

So... He needed to draw a pentagram on the floor with his own blood and do the rite without alerting the others. He really hated it, but if they found out what he was going to do they would tranquilize him, and probably chain him to the wall for good measure. He also needed the blood of a human to make a couple of intricate symbols around and inside of the pentagram. But how could he get blood from one of them without alerting the entire place?

Suddenly he heard the sewer hatch open in the back of the room, and in came just the perfect candidate for his little spell. Lilah came limping into the room, clutching a wound in her side and carrying a crowbar. This was almost too perfect, he needed someone the others wouldn't miss, and how could they miss someone that they didn't know was down here?

He learned from the pounding of her heart, and the smell of the blood on her clothes that she had lost a great deal of blood and probably wouldn't be able to get away if he tried to grab her. On the other hand, she wasn't a complete idiot and purposefully stayed well without reach for him. He had to use simple trick and deceit to get her closer.

"The great Angelus.", she said as she made an attempt at a casual stance. The pain of her wound however made her face twitch in agony.

"Oh come on. You can do better than that, huh?." He smiled viciously at her. She smelled so sweetly of fear, coming here and trying to put on a brave face. He couldn't wait to drain her of every drop of blood in her body, but until then he was going to have some fun breaking her down even more. "Try playing up the awe and the reverence a bit. "The Great, Angelus!""

Lilah gave him a heartless smile.

"Great. Being locked in a cage." she stepped a little closer to the line drawn on the floor. Angelus didn't need to look down to see she was still beyond his range.

"Yet still managing to display better grooming habits than you." Angelus casually strolled closer to the bars, giving her a mock sweep with his eyes. "Look at yourself Lilah. All these years wanting to meet me, you couldn't have run a comb through your hair, maybe slap on a little lipstick? Evil doesn't have to mean sloppy." he shook his head as he continued to eye her body, searching for slow reactions and trying to make out if her breathing was too irregular.

"Stop it!", her fake smile had drained away quickly under his scrutinizing gaze.

"Ooh, feeling touchy are we?" his smile grew wider as he noticed how she could barely lift her left arm. That would be his opening.

"The beast. I want you to stop it.". Of course she was here with an agenda, always an agenda with these lawyers. They never did anything for fun. Well now that he had his weak spot, all he needed was to get her closer to the bars. He decided to play along for a while, until she made a mistake.

"Oh, not sure I really want to. Don't get me wrong, not a big fan of the horn job." he strolled to the back of his cake before turning around. "Although he did bring on permanent midnight. Got to give him props for that.".

"Can you do it or not?", the anger and desperation radiated of her like a bad ooze. Angelus smiled inwards, he was getting to her.

"Why is your thong in such a bunch councilor?" he eyed her crowbar, with that he wouldn't need a spell. "You're a professional.".

Somehow that made something snap in her and she gave an almost deranged laugh.

"Working the sewers." She held up her arms in mock presentation. "Beast took everything. Killed them all."

"Salve the damage, he does have a flair for it."

"Not just at the office. Everybody. Field off, liaisons, people who had sick that day." Really? He thought to himself, that sounded a little to planned for the beast he remembered.

"But not me. Not yet." she took a step forward and her toe barely crossed the red line on the floor. "Why is he picking on us, we're the bad guys?"

"Apparently not bad enough. But there is an upside. You have a devoted boyfriend who loves and cares... Oh wait, you don't." he chuckled as he saw another brick of her inner wall smash into pieces. "Your life really is crap."

She turned away for just a second, but that was all he needed. He flung himself across the room and grabbed her by her throat, he snapped her neck before she had any time to make a sound. He then took the crowbar, and with one swift pull he forced the gate of the cage open.

"Free at last." he gave the camera a deadly grin. "Time to visit my friends."

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><p>"You guys had any luck" Fred asked, trying not show how embarrassed and guilty she felt.<p>

"Yeah, but it was all bad. Shaman doesn't have the soul, doesn't know who took it." Connor answered.

"Well maybe it's because I found it in Cordy's room upstairs." Angelus voice sounded from the floor above. They all looked up in horror as he held the shimmering vial in his hands. "I really didn't think our little, sweet Cordelia had that kind of evil inside of her. Letting a monster loose on the town, and then making me loose my soul to give you all a big distraction."

Gunn made to grab for a tranquilizing gun, but Angelus disappeared back into the maze of rooms upstairs. They all circled around Cordelia who put on one of her biggest fake smiles.

"Come on guys, it's not as if we can trust him.". She turned to the incredulously looking Connor eying her. "Connor, you won't let them hurt me will you?"

He barely looked into her eyes as Wesley asked the question on everyone's mind.

"You aren't Cordy are you?"

Cordelia turned on him and gave him a gaze that made him shiver in discomfort.

"That simple girl? Thought she could really become a higher being without consequences. I simply needed to come to this plane of existence, and she was stupid enough to let me take over her.

Wesley had a crossbow aimed at her heart, ready to shoot an arrow through her heart.

"Do you think you could kill me Wesley?" She asked condescendingly, "After all these years you would put an arrow into my heart as if was a simple vampire?"

"I will do what I have to." but then Connor threw himself at him, knocking the crossbow from his hands. Gunn reacted instinctively and shot a tranquilizing arrow into Connor's neck, making him slowly fall away from Wesley.

Cordelia used the distraction to try to run for the door, but the moment she opened the door Angelus appeared before her, smiling like he had done every time he knew he had cornered a prey.

"This is where you get off Cordy."

And with that said he sank his fangs into her throat. The warm blood poured into his mouth and he took deep gulps of it, the blood made him feel more alive than he had felt in years, pigs blood really was a poor substitute. Her blood was far stronger than any human blood he had tasted, she was definitely something else. Before he dropped her to the floor he took another deep bite and ripped out a chunk of her throat. He then left her gurgling and whimpering behind himself before he walked inside the Hyperion and closed the door behind himself.

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><p>Angelus smiled to himself as he drove his big black convertible along the highway. He had several bruises and cuts, but the fight had been worth it. Sometimes Spike really got something right, sometimes you just had to throw yourself into it with only your fists and fangs.<p>

He lit another cigarette as he contemplated his next move. He hadn't needed to call on any demons to get him out of that cage, he had succeeded all by himself. But now he needed some minions if he was to start another war of the night in Sunnydale, but gods knew that there had never been any shortage of vampires in Sunnydale.

He also needed to figure out where he should stay. He still had his old apartment, but the manor seemed more fitting for a vampire of his status. He just needed to put up some defensive spells against that godforsaken witch so she couldn't re-en soul him just as was starting to have fun again.

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><p>Finally he reached the edge of the town, and already he could clearly make out exactly in what direction the slayer was. That sense of her had only grown stronger and stronger over the years, so much that he even started to pick up random feelings from Buffy as he slowly closed in on her.<p>

But as he rounded the corner he could see how Buffy threw Spike into an old house. He leaned against the front of another house as he listened to the fight inside. So little Willy was still antagonizing her? You had to give him props for not giving up, even though it was a lost cause. However he both felt in his sense and heard from the commotion how the fight changed inside, even though the building continued to collapse onto them.

How did he dare? How did he dare touch what was his? It was time to learn little Willy a lesson, he thought as he lit another cigarette, but why interrupt him during such a heated confrontation. Better to wait it out and play the "hurt Angel" card when they where done.

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><p>Buffy rose on her feet and looked around nervously clutching her leather skirt to cover up her naked body.<p>

"When... When did the building fall down?"

Spike also looked around with a mischievous smile.

"I don't know. Must have been somewhere between the first and the..."

Buffy looked at him, then at the wrecked building before exclaiming.

"Oh my god."

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><p>The bickering had continued as Spike tried to make Buffy stay, and Buffy tried to tell herself how it had been just an accident.<p>

"I'm just saying, vampires get you hot." Spike said with a triumphant smile.

"A vampire, A vampire." She felt how tears began to form at the memory of how he had left her. "But he's gone. You were just... Convenient."

"Too harsh lover.". Buffy and Spike spun around to what still passed for a door.

"Angel?", Buffy and Spike spoke in unison. Spike nervously and a little irritated, Buffy fearful and ashamed.

"Yeah baby." He gave them both a broad grin. "I'm back."

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><p><strong>So here it is. Tell me what you think of it. This is just the prolog, but I think it sets the mood perfectly. I don't think anyone has made a crossover with Angelus from season 4 of Angel into Btvs. But I'm not too sure. If you didn't like how I combinedskipped a season please let me know and I will re-edit.**

**Next update will be considerably longer, if you think i should continue with it. **

**Have a nice weekend. **


	2. Chapter 2 When the devil cries my name

**When the devil cries my name**

**Thanks for liking my new fic:D Wow I never had so many subscriptions in so few days and I really loved that you took the time to review. Well for this part we finally see how exactly they all react to being in the same room with each other, I can promise you that there will be quite a lot of friction and, to be honest, shameful stares at the floor. **

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><p>Angelus continued to smile as he watched Buffy's and Spike's chocked and embarrassed faces. This was like Christmas, all this guilt made his heart warm.<p>

"So." He finally said after a long awkward pause. "I leave you so you can start over with someone human that can give you a normal life. And in the end you start bouncing on the first vampire around when that human phase was over.".

He took out a packet of smokes and lit a cigarette. Taking a long drag before continuing, still wearing his cold smile.

"And you never even tried to call me for a stress reliever? Baby that's just not fair to me. I long for you every day, every second I'm awake. And then you go off with him?" He never raised his voice, it kept it's icy calm.

He stepped down to them and cupped Buffy's chin in his hand and then spoke almost like a poem.

"My dream lover. My killer."

Buffy's eyes started filling up with tears as she avoided looking in his eyes. But she bit down the pain and tried for anger instead.

"It wasn't me that left you, remember? You just left. Then you come back and stalk me without informing me. After that I find you on the bed with Faith. FAITH!" by this time she was shouting, while tears of pain and anger streamed down her face.

"And you defended her, you even hit me for her! Remember how I had to kill her to save you? No? Well I suspect that's things you forget over in LA, you have no idea what it meant for me to kill another human, how I did everything for you no matter the cost. Then you come back to Sunnydale and beat the shit out of the first guy that I ever had a normal relationship with. And he left me too! And when I came back from the dead you barely spoke when we met. I just find out you have a son, with Darla! How was I supposed to feel when I heard that?"

"Had. Connor is dead." Angelus spoke calmly, not backing away at the fury of her words. Now he knew the reason why things had gone so cold between them since he left Sunnydale. Darla, that was something he would like to forget. She had become so dull in the last century. He was glad that even with a soul he had no problem with killing her, too bad she had to come back again and mess things up. Oh well, nothing lasts forever.

"And remember that you sent me to hell, because I haven't. Three hundred years of pain beyond anything you can imagine, and you whimper that your friends dragged you from heaven.". Now Angelus was on the offensive, he may not still have the soul that had taken all the heartbreak, but he remembered it so vividly he almost felt like it was still there.

"And all I hear about is how perfect Riley is, and how much better he was for you than I was. And then you come down here and shove it into my face. And then I hear you died, and you never even tried to tell me, or even call me, before you were going in for the final act. I had to live with you dying too, and I thought it would be forever. I never dreamed they would drag you out of there, but I underestimated your witch. And so I tried to put on a brave face trying to move on with my life despite the fact that it hurt even more to know I would never see you again, at least when you where here I knew you where safe. And then suddenly I find out I have a son, something that is quite impossible, and I also find out you came back to life. And now I come back to Sunnydale and I find you with HIM.". At this point they were barely an inch away from each others face, shouting for all their worth.

Finally Spike spoke up.

"Well peaches, you left for years on end. I hung around, and I helped her through all of this."

"Shut up Spike!" Both Angelus and Buffy shouted in unison.

"Is he the first vampire on patrol you enroll for the good fight, and then for some pillow talk?", Angelus spoke with thinly veiled disgust. Though he was seeing a flaw in his own logic, something Spike of course picked up immediately.

"Well technically that would be you." Spike ventured, trying to sound as cocky as always, but he knew he had really gotten himself in the middle of the lover's spat of the century this time.

"Shut up Spike!". They said again, but this time a bit calmer. They seemed to finally have voiced all the problems they'd been having.

"I'm sorry about Connor." she said, though she couldn't really say it with any real emotion. He was the spawn of Darla, it was supposed to be her that would have had Angel's beautiful children.

"Thanks, it was quite a blow.", it really had been, he had snapped Connors neck clean off with one hit.

"Angel?", she spoke in a calm soft voice now and tilted up his face so she could see his eyes. "I'm really glad you've come back here, and I'm sorry you had to find me like this, but I need to go to Dawn. She's been alone since yesterday."

"It's OK. Take care of your sister. It's not like I can leave now that the sun is up." he spoke in the calm and loving voice he used when he had had a soul, but now it was barely an effort any more.

Did he really care if she was happy? No! He was Angelus, there was nothing that could stop him from doing to this town what he had done to a hundred other towns. And, he reflected as Buffy left through the wreckage, he was going to be stuck in here with Spike for a while. Time to teach him the difference between messing with Angel and messing with Angelus.

"So Spike," he said with a viscous grin as he rounded on Spike, "let's talk about what happened when you looked for the gem of Amarra.". He vamped out as he smashed his fist into the unprepared blond vampires stomach.

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><p>"I really expected more from you Willy." Angelus was enjoying a smoke while he leaned against what remained of the wall of the wrecked house. In front of him Spike dangled upside down from a rope he had fastened against one of the floors above.<p>

The fight had taken over an hour, and he was actually pleasantly surprised by Spike's increased strength, but he had not spent three hundred years in hell like Angelus had. Spike had however put up a hell of a fight, he thought as he touched the spot where Spike had driven a big splinter through his leg.

" Gave you a run for your money. Had you strung up last we met."

"Your friend had that bloody chain, and I had too much holding me back, back then."

"You think she hasn't figured out you're not her precious Angel anymore?" Spike spat out a mouthful of blood as he looked with contempt on his once great idol.

"Think she's even gonna miss you when I've dusted you?" Angelus countered.

Spike was beaten almost beyond recognition. Angelus had spent the better part of the day remembering all his old tricks for torture. Spike looked even worse than when Glory had tried to make him tell where Dawn was, though Angelus of course did not know anything about that. Part of the reason why he did it was because he was angry, and the other part was that he was angry about being angry. That girl really messed with ones head.

He had spent a hundred and fifty years killing and torturing, then a hundred years moping about it. Now he was back in the his true form, splendid and deadly, but he couldn't even enjoy a bit of torture without thinking about the blonde.

"She's going too see right through you," Spike grunted through the pain, "and then you wish she would just torture you.". He started to chuckle, blood dripping from his mouth too the floor. "She's stronger than you, and she has her witch helping her as well. You don't stand a chance.". He spat a mouthful of blood in Angelus direction.

"True," Angelus agreed, "what I need is a little more firepower.".

He started to pace the room. What could give him the edge? What would make sure the slayer didn't just kill him with all her friends gathered? And the answer hit him; he needed a slayer of his own. Someone equal to Buffy, and loyal to him alone. He knew someone who would do whatever he asked of her, and he just needed to nudge her in the right direction to bring back her old self.

"Well I must say that I can always rely on William the Bloody to give me the best advice. Thank you for helping me out of a tight spot." he started to leave, and turned around in the doorway. "I hope someone finds you soon, and if it's Buffy you tell her; In times of trouble, we turn to an old friend.". Laughing merrily to himself he almost skipped up the stairs and disappeared from Spike's blurred view.

"Bollocks" was all he managed before he fainted.

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><p>"With Spike?" Angelus could barely keep his temper as he drove down the highway towards LA. This would really make her jealous, he hoped.<p>

Buffy had been envious of Faith simply talking to him, if she found out he was doing more than just talking... He relished the idea of placing Buffy in the same seat she had left him. But still he wasn't sure he wanted to see her hurt, he just wanted to destroy everything she was and stood for, that wasn't the same thing. He wanted her to accept him for what he was, but most of all he wanted to kiss her lips and smell her hair. No wait! That was soulboy's idea. He wanted... He did want... And finally he realized that with or without soul he wanted the same thing; Buffy. Whatever it took, and whatever the cost, she was his and he was her's.

But on the other hand, it wasn't healthy to attach one self too hard to one person. Faith was definitely one of the most attractive women he had met in his days, and bonus for not being a short blond for once. And she had a darkness within herself that made his mouth water as he thought of all the terrible things they could do. He changed into his demon face out of pure joy, not caring for the amazed gazes some people that he passed gave him, as if he was fresh from the set of some movie.

He remembered the taste of her lips and how desperate she had been to have something that belonged to Buffy. Now he would make her his killer, and they would prowl the night together. Yes, this pack would be considerably more deadly than the last time he had wandered freely through Sunnydale. He knew quite a few hideouts where vampires went to get away from his soul self. They would have to make do before he had time to weed out the weak and incompetent. On the other hand, there where so many vampires in Sunnydale that he needn't bother with transporting some from LA. The logistics would be too much.

All you had to do was see things from a different angle, and already the world seemed much brighter, he thought as he finally saw LA in the distance.

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><p>Buffy was worried.<p>

After the awkward encounter in the morning she hadn't seen Angel around. And neither had her friends(she had forced them to tell her if he hid somewhere like the first time he had come back from LA), and now she couldn't find Spike either. Surely they wouldn't still be in the old shack?, she thought as she exited Spike's crypt. After all, it had been dark for almost two hours.

Maybe they had some problems to punch out, problems she knew she was the cause of. But she had never intended anyone too find out, least of all Angel. It had been a result of all the chaos and disintegration that was happening in her life. Nothing was ever simple anymore. Willow had left Dawn alone all night while she was off getting a magical buzz, Giles hadn't picked up the phone, and when she went to his place she had seen him sitting at the phone with a blank and cold expression. She hadn't had the heart to come barging in in case it was something personal. The only shimmer of light seemed to be Xander's and Anya's wedding, but they both had so much to do that they had become quite irritable in the last few weeks.

She thought about Angel's motives for coming back here, while she made her way through the town. The first time she had been in danger, the second time he apologized for his harsh words in LA, and the third time her mother had died. For him to come here now it must be something really horrifying going on.

Finally she saw the wreckage. She didn't expect to find them there but it was worth a shot. The memories from last night, and especially from the morning after, came back all the more vividly as she made her way to the basement while navigating through the rubble.

She could see a shape hanging from something, but in the darkness she couldn't make out what it was, so she took out a flashlight. As the light fell on the beaten and disfigured mess that was Spike she gave out a terrified shriek. How could Angel do something like this? She ran up to Spike and tried to cut him loose as gently as she could, but she was too short to reach the rope. She had to get to the floor above to finally cut him loose, and she couldn't prevent him from making a not very smooth landing in the dust. Her mind racing, trying to figure this out, she ran down and took Spike's head in her hands.

"Did Angel do this?". Her eyes searched his for a reaction, but he was barely conscious.

"Not... Angel...". Was all he managed before he passed out again.

She immediately searched for her phone and dialed Giles.

"Come on! Come on!"

Finally he answered.

"Buffy?"

"Yes Giles it's me. I just found Spike hanging in the basement of a building in the slummy part of Sunnydale, not far from the Bronze."

"Try to get him to the Bronze, and I will meet you there.". She knew that was his fake calm voice, but she had other things he needed to know.

"Giles..."

"Yes Buffy?"

"I think it was Angel."

"I know Buffy. I need to tell you something as soon as we meet. I'll be at the Bronze in ten minutes." and he hung up.

_I know_? How could he know already? And Spike seemed to mutter something about _not Angel_, maybe it was someone else? And they took Angel and beat Spike up. Then they really needed to get moving, she had to save him if he was somewhere else being tortured or killed. She lifted Spike up in her arms, thank god for slayer strength she thought, and carried him towards the Bronze. She stayed in the shadows and propped Spike up against the wall in a sitting position. A normal human being would have died long ago, but vampires (and Spike in particular) where much more tenacious.

After a few minutes Giles turned up in his red sports car, jumping out the second the car came to a halt.

"Buffy, are you all right?", he came running up to them both, looking Buffy up and down in searching for wounds.

"I am, but Spike's in pretty bad shape."

Giles lifted Spike's eyelids to check for a reaction. When he finally got one he rose to his feet.

"Giles, someone must have taken Angel as well. He wasn't where I left him and Spike.". Why was Giles avoiding her eyes? "Giles? We need to move now if we should have a chance of finding him alive. Willow can do a search spell, and Xander and Anya can ask around in Willy's bar, and..."

"It's not necessary.", Giles interrupted.

"What do you mean? We have to find Angel!". Her voice was high-pitched and almost panicky.

"Yes, we need to find him, but not because he's in danger...". He finally looked up into her eyes, and there was a grim determination in his. "But because he's the danger. He's back..."

"Who?". But the truth finally dawned. His words, his way of acting around her, the expert torture.

"Angelus.".

And behind them Spike continued to mutter; "Not... Angel...Not...Angel..."

* * *

><p>Angelus examined his fingernails as he sat behind the glass, waiting for Faith to be brought out. He had never liked being around her before because he was afraid she could draw him in, and thus make him hurt Buffy. Now things had changed, and it was time he drew her in.<p>

After a few minutes the guard finally brought her out. She smiled as she saw who it was, and quickly picked up the phone on the other side of the glass. He noticed how she had become even more beautiful in the last few years, he could barely stop himself for letting his gaze wander downwards to her bosom.

"Hi Angel.", she gave him a broad, happy smile. And Angelus gave her one back, but it was more of a grin, as he saw just how much his visits meant to her. This might even go more smoothly than he had hoped.

"Hi Faith, good to see you again. Sorry for not coming round for a while, had a really stressful time these last few months. How are you?". He needed to play this smoothly, if he just smacked her over the head with his intentions she might lash out. And he didn't need two angry slayers after him... Again.

"Well you know, having super strength really makes it hard for the other girls to beat the crap out of me." she chuckled and mockingly flexed her right arm. "Though I must say it's not for a lack of trying from their side.".

Angelus smiled, knowing too well the strength of a slayer. The other inmates didn't stand a chance. But he also knew that Faith had never had to spend time in solitary, so she must have behaved and kept her anger to herself.

She must have noticed his brooding expression because she leaned in and spoke with a serious tone.

"Is something wrong Angel?".

"It's just...", he thought about how he should phrase it. And then it dawned on him, he should stick to the truth. Granted a modified version of it, but still something that was near enough to make the others unable to deny it. "Spike is after Buffy. He is crazy about her, and somehow he has managed to seduce her. I found then screwing around in a building, and when I tried to ask her about it she just stormed out."

"Spike and Buffy? I thought he was evil.". She listened intently now, and he knew he just needed to push a little more.

"He is. And now Willow is addicted to magic, Xander is about to marry a demon and Buffy has a fake sister that was made of magic. And no one seems to bother, I tried to get them to realize what they were doing, but she just said I didn't belong in her world any more.". He put on his best fake-worried expression.

"O my god, Angel I am so sorry."

"I just don't know what to do. I'm afraid to take care of Spike, because Buffy might kill me. And I'm afraid of helping Willow, cause she's just going to make me explode if I question her actions."

"Do you want me to come to Sunnydale with you?" Faith was tense like a cat, ready for the jump.

"I do.".

"Then back up."

He rose from the chair and backed up from the glass. Without a second thought Faith rose from her own chair, took a few steps back, and threw herself through the glass. Reacting instinctively, the guards reached for their weapons, but Angelus punched out the lights of the two on his side of the glass, taking care not to kill them as it might alert Faith. As she landed she made a roll and continued straight ahead, grabbing Angelus by the cloak, and launched herself and him through the window.

A car cushioned the fall, but they smashed right trough it's roof. Angelus barely waited to get his bearings before he jumped out of the smashed car and ran towards his own, Faith following right behind him.

"So. The sun is still not up for it?" She ventured as they took off at breakneck speed.

"Oh the sun's up, it just doesn't shine here in LA.". Thank god for that he thought. This might actually be a nice place to live when he had dealt with Buffy. "The rest of the team said they could take care of it. Shouldn't take more than a day or two tops."

"So... Back to Sunnydale huh?", she shifted in her seat, noticing how he sometimes gave her quite the lustful gaze. But he was in love with Buffy, wasn't he? Or maybe he had finally moved past her, they hadn't really spent any time together for the better part of two years. No, it must be something else on his mind when he looked at her like that.

"Yes. Seems you can do what you want, one always finds oneself back in that town. Maybe it's because I'm attracted by the power of the hellmouth, I am a demon after all.". He gave her a wry smile.

"Or maybe it's the power of B that's got you going back there all the time." she joked.

But Angel's face darkened at her words and he grew silent. So maybe it was really finally over in his mind? He was just looking out for her like one did for one's friends. She had to admit to herself that she didn't feel any sympathy for Buffy. She had had her chance, and she had thrown it away with soldier boy and that Spike. Maybe it was finally her time to be seen, to be given what she had craved for so long.

"Angel?", she asked hesitantly, turning to watch him as he looked down the road with that special frown he had when he concentrated.

"Yes?", he didn't take his eyes of the road as he accelerated past a few cars.

"I asked you once if things between us could be different if you weren't with Buffy.". She watched him intently but all he maid was a grunt of recognition. "Well... You said we would never know, as you thought you would never leave Buffy."

"I did, yes.". Finally turned to look into her eyes.

"Weeeeell..." and she began to let her hand wander across the seat and unto his leg, letitng her fingers walk across his leg up and down. "How do you feel about that now?"

All he did was smile as he pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped.

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><p><strong>So here it is. Hoped you liked it:) I know some of you object to the idea of Angel and Faith together, but seriously he hasn't get laid in over four years (erased memories don't count people). So I gave him some action for once, and I always wondered what the combination psycho-slayer and psycho-vampire could do to Sunnydale. But don't worry people, it's still all about Buffy and Angelus. Now all I have to do is figure out what the hell she will react to his future plans. Suggestions?<strong>

**I'm having a quite slow week so I wanted to publish two updates in one week. I thought you would like many updates, rather than once a month a really long update. But if you would prefer long updates with quite a bit of space between them, just let me know.**

**Reviews make me happy, and I definitely take your wishes into consideration while writing the story. **

**Have a nice week and I hope you stay tuned for more Angelus destruction and dark love. **


	3. Chapter 3 Children of the damned Part 1

**Children of the damned: part 1**

**Sorry it took so long to update. Had to study like mad for a big test, hope it was time well spent. Well anyway, here is chapter three of Passion. Let's see what Angelus has been up to with Faith on that highway. **

**And just as a warning, I do intend to make this story all about Buffy and Angelus. So some characters just have to go, because they always pissed me off to watch on the show. **

**Have Fun;)**

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><p>Angelus was quite pleased with himself as he drove past the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign. Faith had been quite the athlete, even though their sex had been hindered by the fact that they had been in the car. So he had dragged her out of the car and laid her down on the hood of the car. He had enjoyed the honks from the passing cars, and Faith hadn't seemed to mind as she had made enough sounds to wake a dead person.<p>

Now he had to test her resolve in her promise to help him. First she would have to kill some vampires and other demons, then some evil people to make her transition as easy as possible. And in the end she would kill whatever he ordered her to kill. Or, he could simply take the quick rout, he thought. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and stopped, then he turned to Faith.

"Wake up Faith. We have an old friend we need to visit.", he shook the sleeping Faith by the shoulder.

"What?... Where?... How?..." she muttered, drowsy from the sleep.

"Find someone, in Sunnydale, by asking." He answered with a smirk.

"What time is it?". She finally sat up and looked around.

They were parked right outside the cafe in central Sunnydale. The sun was barely up, and nothing seemed to be open.

"It's half past six. Come on now lazybones." he jumped out of the convertible and quickly darted across the street and into Willy's pub, holding his duster over his head to shield him from the early rays of light.

"Time to murder and create" he muttered as he opened the door and strolled inside.

Faith followed him inside, and was astonished as she walked into a hail of applause and cheers from the demons gathered in the bar that seemed directed towards Angel. They seemed to hail him as an old friend, and she could see that already some of them had bought him drinks as she found him at the bar, surrounded by a haggle of demons.

"You seem quite popular here. Why's that?", she said as she took the seat he had held for her next to himself. He pushed over one of the pints to her and waited for her to take a heavy gulp of cold lager before he answered.

"Things have changed lately. I realized that I had to help those demons who didn't do any harm from the bigger badder one's. So I helped Willy here to round up those who needed help, and he gives me regular info on those that need taken care of.". He gave Willy an icy look that made him nod frenetically and hasten to the other side of the bar to serve some newcomers.

"Wow, never knew a bar could actually do any help in the community of demons."

It does, Angelus thought. It provides me with good info from the local demons, and it's a great recruiting ground. But that's not something you need to know right now.

"Well, that's great Angel, but when do we get to kill that vamp B's been screwing around with, and the one who's got Xander hooked?". She put down the empty glass and ordered a new one.

Getting her drunk would definitely make things easier.

"The girl dies first." he answered, already imagining tearing the blond ex-demon to pieces and then watch the life leave her eyes. Unfortunately he needed to have Faith do the killing, though that might be just as fun. "I need you to do it. I need to know that you haven't gone soft. She may plead, or try to convince you that she's human or appeal to your old feelings for Xander. Even if we find them together I need you to kill her, no mercy and no hesitation. Can you do that?"

She looked into his eyes and gave him a big smile.

"Piece of cake honey." she drained the beer in two big gulps and jumped of the stool and started towards the door.

"Not so fast Faith, we need to plan this a little and not just storm in. Besides, the sun's just gone up, we need to take the sewers out of here.". He took her arm and led her to the back of the room where they started a whispered conversation that ended with them walking into the garbage room and disappearing down the shaft.

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><p>They were standing outside the apartment, Faith biting her nail and Angel sharpening a silver dagger. Was this really something she could do? She was having serious second thoughts as she felt herself sobering up. But she couldn't fail Angel now, she needed to redeem herself in his eyes. The sex hadn't stolen his soul, so she knew he didn't love her, but it meant he needed someone to be there for him, she couldn't run out on him now.<p>

"Are you sure she is evil?" Faith asked as he gave her the shining knife.

"I am." came the short answer.

"Then give me something for the nerves. I don't think I can do it otherwise.".

He reached into the bag he had brought with him, and fished out a bottle of Jaeger.

"Take a quick sip of this and then just do it. Don't think about it too much, I will take care of Xander if he hasn't left for work already.". He would definitely take care of that boy.

She took a quick sip, gave back the bottle, turned and kicked the door in. Inside they found a startled Anya and Xander sitting at the kitchen table.

"Faith?" Xander asked as she marched in, and the then he saw Angelus follow her "Angel? What are you doing here, Is Buffy in danger?".

"She is, but that will be taken care of later." Angelus answered as he crossed the room in two quick strides and gave him a punch that knocked him of his feet. "Do it Faith!" he commanded, and Faith wasn't slow to react, stabbing Anya in the gut. Anya screamed in pain and clutched the wound with both her hands, the blood seeping between her fingers.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked as she backed away from Faith, who stabbed her again, this time in the chest.

"You are a demon and you need to die. You have bewitched Xander, and I just won't let you twist his head anymore.

Behind them Angelus dragged Xander of the floor and turned his head towards the girls.

"Look Xander, she's killing your girl. And once more you realize that in the world of magic and demons you are nothing but a simple weak human, unable to protect your girl from the evils of the world. You let Buffy die twice, and now Anya dies, and maybe tomorrow I will kill Willow as well. Watch closely as _my _slayer kills your girl, after this I will have her kill Buffy next." He felt Xander press against his iron grip with all the fury of the cornered animal, so he let him go. Xander charged across the room, straight towards Faith.

"Die you bitch!" he roared, raising his fist for a blow. But Faith reacted instinctively and threw the knife towards him. He stopped and looked down on the hilt, protruding from his chest. He looked up at the horrified look on Faith's face as he slowly dropped to his knees and then onto the floor. A pool of blood started to spread across the floor, coming ever closer to where Faith stood, terror stricken.

"Faith!", Angelus ran across the room, taking faith by the arm. "We need to go Faith, we need to get you to safety.". He tried his best at keeping a concerned face, but he didn't need to bother too hard. She couldn't take her eyes from the two bodies in the room.

"I didn't mean to do it." she said, her features becoming cold. The old darkness began to engulf her. "We need to get rid of the evidence."

"No time." who would ever want to destroy the evidence? Leaving the bodies in special places and in special ways had been half the fun. She needn't know that quite yet. "The neighbors must have heard. Let's get out of here before someone sees us."

And so they disappeared out the door and down the stairs.

Anya slowly dragged herself along the floor towards Xanders pale and lifeless body. She barely listened to the cries coming from the doorway, and she continued her slow advance as she felt someone trying to hold her. She brushed the persons hand away and finally reached him. She looked into his cold eyes, staring into something distant only the dead could see.

"Hi Xander. I suppose I'm dying now." she gave him a smile and brushed some of his hair from his face. She liked to keep him handsome and tidy.

"I just want you to know that these three years with you were better than the thousand I had before. I'm just sorry we didn't have time to get married, I would have looked good in my dress, and you would have looked good in a suit." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the mouth.

"Wait for me will you? It would be nice to see you in a while. I'm just going to close my eyes and wait for the bright light everyone talks about." she crawled in next to him and muttered a few last words.

"Wonder if they have Bunnys in heaven?"

She didn't see the light of the ambulance as it arrived, she didn't see the doctors running in and checking her for signs of life, she didn't feel the electric shock pulsing through her body. She saw a smiling man approach her, holding out his hand. As he came closer she saw it was Xander, wearing that grin he always had wen he was up to no good. He held his hand out for her, she took it and never looked over her shoulder as she felt surrounded by a tremendous feeling of peace walking across a great field of red flowers.

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><p>Buffy wasn't at all happy. Spike was still too badly beaten up to be of any use, Willow wasn't allowed to do any magic as she had proved she couldn't handle it any more, Giles wanted to get out there and kill Angel as soon as possible and she still hadn't figured out if she could.<p>

She had been shocked to find out how he had killed all the members of his agency in LA, even though she had never had any great love for neither Cordy or Wesley. This certainly meant that he was out to kill anything that reminded him of his past actions, which doubtlessly meant he was going after her, if not already, then very soon

Giles was at the phone again, standing behind the counter of "The Magic Box". She didn't pay any attention to what was being said but he seemed even more grievous than he had the week before when they had found out about what happened in LA. She was too busy contemplating how messed up her life was to listen to something she was sure was going to make everything even more complicated. When Giles hung up she turned to him with an exasperated look.

"So what's happened now, any new bad leads on Angel?". Giles didn't answer, he just moved slowly and almost mechanically towards his liquor cupboard. "Giles? What's going on?"

He didn't answer before he had drowned almost the entire bottle of scotch he had taken out. Then he finally turned with red and swollen eyes and looked his slayer in the eyes.

"Xander and Anya are dead."

"No!" she shrieked, her voice broken. This couldn't be true, not this. "No no no no no..."

Giles tried to take her into his arms, but she beat back his hands and dropped to her knees. The world suddenly seemed grey and empty like someone had blown out all the light in it. She couldn't feel anything, a numbness had taken her at his words. She looked up with tears streaming down her face.

"Are they sure it's them?" it was a stupid question, but she hoped in vain that it might just have been some other poor people.

"They are sure Buffy." Giles sat down in a chair and tried not to look away from Buffy, who was still sitting in the middle of the floor, crying her eyes out.

"I will kill him for this Giles. He did it, just like he killed Miss Calendar." she started to feel her body again, and this time it was fueled by pure rage. "I will tear him to pieces for this!"

" A dark haired woman was seen fleeing the scene Buffy. There was no mention of Angel.". Suddenly they both remembered Spike's words from when he told them of his last chat with Angelus; "more firepower".

"Faith..." they both concluded in unison.

"It might not have been him tat held the dagger, but he made her do it." Buffy rose to her feet and quickly walked in to the back of the store to get her equipment. "I will kill them both for this."

Giles tried to follow her, but he was making only slow progress as he felt the full force of the alcohol.

"Buffy. You can't face them both alone. Angel alone was almost able to kill you last time, you only beat him because he chose to taunt instead of kill you. And Faith is almost on par with you as well, you should wait until Spike is healed and then take Willow along as well.".

But she didn't listen as she selected Faith's old dagger, fitting to kill her with she thought as she remembered the last time she had stabbed her with it. And of course Mr. Pointy for Angel... No, it wasn't Angel, it was Angelus. She then walked past Giles and headed straight out, his desperate calls falling on deaf ears.

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><p>She headed straight for the closest cemetery, the one she and Angel had patrolled most often. She had a hunch he might be drawn to the places with the most memory of his old ways. And sure enough she found him sitting on the very same gravestone he had found her on when they had found the dug out graves of girls. All that seemed a lifetime ago, and she was barely aware of it as her slayer senses kicked in and she was preparing herself for the fight. Angelus was sitting with his back to her looking up at the big bright moon, humming an old love song.<p>

"Hello lover," he said without looking around. He must have smelled her long before she saw him. "I knew you would find me. Are you here to kill me?". He didn't jump of the gravestone or even turn to look at her, his eyes glued to the night sky.

"You and that bitch of yours. I could have forgiven you for beating Spike up, but you killed Xander and Anya. They were going to get married soon, did you know that?". She needed to get some things said, it was easier to build up her fury. Because she was definitely going to do it... Definitely.

"Well, she isn't here, I sent her out on other business." he finally slid of the tombstone and turned to look at Buffy. "So you can do what ever it is that you want to do.".

He threw his coat on the ground and began to unbutton his shirt, as he reached the last button he threw the shirt on the ground as well. He then walked up to Buffy and stopped barely an inch in front of her, taking the hand holding the stake and placing it above his heart.

"Come on Buffy, do what you have to.". He smiled down to her, and she stared into his deep brown eyes.

"It's not just what I have to, it's what I _want _to," she breathed, feeling herself getting lost in those eyes.

He hadn't changed in the least, the same hair, the same smile, the same eyes, the same smell and the same un-beating heart she felt as she pressed her hand on top of the place his heart was. A soul made all the difference she told herself. But then why did Spike love her, and even Giles had said that Angelus had loved her in his own twisted way.

"What are you waiting for slayer? Do it. Do it!" he shouted pressing the tip of the stake through his skin until he felt that she was actually pulling her hand back. He shook his head and backed away from her. "Still can't do it unless the whole existence is at stake? Well I haven't planned on blowing up the world just yet so I might stick around for a while."

"What do you want Angel?", Buffy couldn't believe she hadn't done it. She had tried to conjure up images of the people he had killed, but in the end all she had seen was those deep brown eyes of his.

"You.", came the short answer. He didn't pick up his coat or shirt, he simply stood there and watched her. "Only you... And nothing else."

"Only me..." she suddenly remembered the last time he had met her in the graveyard for a fight. "You lured me out here again! Faith is not just out on some errand, she's out for the others!".

Reacting instinctively she turned and ran as fast as she could the way back to the Magic Box. But she barely made it more than a few hundred yards down the road before he caught up with her, to her surprise still shirtless (even though she found herself thinking that he had gotten even more buff in LA).

"I didn't send her to do that. I sent her to get some info on the local vampire scene so I could get some time to see you.".

"Don't lie to me Angel!" she continued to run, but he easily kept up with her.

"OK. Sorry... She's killing Giles." Buffy was so startled that he admitted, that she stopped and looked at him for a few seconds before continuing down the road. Behind her she could hear Angelus's cruel laugh.

* * *

><p>Giles was still sitting in his chair, trying to actually drown himself in scotch and cheap whiskey when the door to the store burst open.<p>

Buffy ran straight to him, and upon seeing him unharmed she flung herself around his neck.

"Buffy?" he gurgled, feeling the air departing from his lungs. "Buffy your choking me."

"Sorry Giles.". She released him and sat down next to him. "I met Angelus. He said that he sent Faith to kill you and that me meeting him was just another distraction."

"Don't let him corner you again Buff", Giles blurted, trying to focus on something that wasn't spinning. I just need to sleep this off and then we can go to the hospital. We need to identify them tomorrow." he rose from his chair, but collapsed right back into it. "Call Willy... I mean Willow... Tell her, something..." and he finally went to sleep.

Buffy put a blanket over him and then walked around the counter to phone Willow. She barely made it through the conversation without crying again, but the familiar cold had gotten hold of her.

Suddenly the doorbell rang as someone entered the shop. Thinking it was Dawn coming to check on her for being late she looked up, and saw Faith standing in the doorway. As Faith slowly sauntered in, Angelus appeared in the doorway as well smiling that gruesome smile he reserved for Buffy.

"Hello B" Faith gave her her best smile. This was definitely going to be fun, kicking B around had a special charm to her. "Look whom I brought with me this time. The real Angelus, no acting and no tricks. He's really here this time, and once again you are alone with us." she added the last bit as she glanced at the sleeping Giles.

"Maybe you have underestimated your companion once again Faith?" she glanced over at Angelus, but he leaned against a bookshelf and gave them both a cold distant look. So, no help there. But that meant that he probably wasn't going to help Faith either, he was just going to see who came out on top.

"He's just going to watch while I carve you up B." Faith drew a long slender knife, it looked like silver to Buffy. "Just like I made Xander watch while I killed his demon girl."

"Don't you realize that you have been played by Angelus again? He just wants to see which one of us is the better fighter." she drew the dagger she had kept for Faith and they slowly began to circle each other.

"Afraid you will loose B?", Faith made a quick jab at her face, but Buffy dodged it easily.

"No, I'm afraid I will win and leave this world with one slayer less." she saw an opening and lunged forward, but Faith evaded it just as easily.

"I am the true slayer B. I was called, and you were supposed to be dead."

"Sorry Faith, but you will never beat me. I have two years and a lot of sanity on you."

"Let's see if that's going to help you."

And then they launched themselves at each other at the same moment, knives held high and ready for the kill.

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><p><strong>A little short, but I wanted to give you something before the weekend. Hope I have more time to write after Friday when the big test is done. Sorry for any of you who liked Xander, but I didn't, so he had to die. But I liked Gun a lot, so he will probably turn up somehow later in the story. I think this story won't be longer than 10 chapters so let's make them count. <strong>

**Oh, and as always; Love the reviews. **

**Have a great week and hope you stay tuned for more bloody mayhem. Can't wait to write the continuation of this chapter. **


	4. Chapter 4 Children of the damned Part 2

**Children of the damned: part 2**

**Glad you liked the last chapter:D Special thanks to you Sinangeled and you Z0ey for faithfully reviewing every chapter:D**

**I am as you noticed a big fan of "In medias res" and cliffhangers as these make these short stories easier to follow and create a greater sense of being a part of the story than if every chapter ended with a long speech and an obvious ending. I have btw thought about the ending and have definitely found the perfect one, but it won't be until chapter 10 so hope you stay with me till then. Anyway, here's part 2;**

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><p>Faith was winning, Angelus felt it long before he saw it. Buffy might only hesitate for a fraction of a second before a strike, but that was all Faith needed. Faith had truly embraced her inner darkness, and she was letting it guide her actions. When they had fought to the death the last time, Buffy had fought for him, but now she fought for herself and that didn't seem enough. Buffy was already covered in dozens of cuts on her arms, chest and legs, and she had barely given Faith more than a few shallow wounds.<p>

As he watched Buffy slowly being driven back against the wall, he asked himself for the first time if he really truly wanted her dead. He definitely wanted to hurt her beyond anything she had felt before, but Faith was definitely going to kill her and he didn't know if that was exactly what he wanted. He had never given his victims a quick death, instead he had drawn out their physical and mental torture over hours, or even days. But he didn't want to stop Faith either, she was really turning into something useful for someone like him. It wasn't more than right that the most fearsome vampire in history should have his own slayer. The only thing that vampires needed to fear in the whole world was his to command, and set loose on those who refused to obey him.

And yet...

Faith might have an inner darkness that he found both interesting and attracting, but she lacked so much that Buffy had. It wasn't fun to torture the tortured, they had to be full of joy before he brought them down to a new hell. And Buffy had always shone like the brightest sun, engulfing all around her, making him bask in the glory of her light. He had enjoyed just being around her more than any depraved desire he had ever relished simply because she had never seen him as a monster or a lover or a friend, she had seen him as something so beautiful only those hopelessly in love could understand. He had tried to keep his distance, but it was as if a power stronger even than the hellmouth had drawn him in. Every day he had had to fight the urge to simply jump into his car, leave LA behind and go back to Sunnydale. He had wanted to fall down on his knees, apologize for leaving her and then punch out the lights of the soldier boy. But that had never happened, and so she lived on her life without him, forgetting him and moving on with both new boyfriends and new demon lovers.

As he looked down at the scene he saw that Faith had finally pushed Buffy against the wall, slamming the knife out of her hand and pressing her own against Buffy's throat.

"This is it B.", she spoke quietly, looking into Buffy's green eyes for the fear she must feel. "This is the end of you. There won't be a witch to save you this time, and there won't be an angel residing in your boyfriend to play me and help you with your noble quest. This time I will kill _you, _while a demon watches and waits to drain you.".

"Faith, you never learn do you?" Buffy spoke back calmly, not giving her the satisfaction of seeing her shrink in fear. "I don't care if I die. I already did it twice, and all I regret is not being able to stay there. This world is harsh and cruel, and it is not worth living in. Where I go, you will never be able to follow."

Faith gave her a wide smile, pressing the knife a little deeper into the skin.

"Of course this world is harsh and cruel, because people don't get what they deserve. I deserve to have what you have with the town and the friends. But most of all I deserve Angel, and the love he felt for you."

Angelus started at these words. He didn't think that Faith still held the same old resentment out of jealousy, he thought she finally had embraced something deeper within herself. But now he saw that she was simply a cranky little girl finally ready to strike back against those who didn't like her like they where supposed to; As the one true slayer. The one to revere, the one to love and the one to keep entertained on long dark night's. All that Buffy had already built up by the time Faith arrived.

But he still didn't want to stop her. She had been right about him wanting to drain Buffy, that was all he could do to stop himself from launching himself at her during the entire fight. And now he saw the old fire being re-lit in her eyes, her defiance even on the brink of death, that which he had seen as he himself had her cornered against the wall. And as if Faith had read his mind she spoke the words that still haunted Buffy's dreams.

"I have taken away your friend, your witch is nowhere to be found, the watcher has been thrown into a shed, your father has abandoned you and your mother is dead." she raised the dagger to Buffy's eyes and readied herself to gouge them out of her pretty blond skull. "What do you have left?".

Buffy looked up into those unforgiving eyes. All that rage, and all that envy flashed in them and she knew that this was the end. She would die again, although this time she couldn't count on a quick death. Faith would make it last for a long time, to really savor the feeling of her death. And as she thought back at her life she realized she had only one regret.

"I'm sorry I didn't go to LA and beat you for leaving me, and then drag you back home to Sunnydale." she said, looking at Angelus over Faiths shoulder. "I should have done it a long time ago. Can you forgive me Angel?" her eyes locked with his, and even Faith turned around to watch him with an incredulous look.

He stared into Buffy's eyes for a few seconds, but they seemed like hours to the girls. And then finally he spoke up.

"I do."

Faith's eyes widened with shock and anger. She turned to Buffy and grabbed her by the throat, ready to kill her.

"He might remember you in there, in that empty place of his heart. But he won't stop me from killing you. You _are _alone, and nothing will save you this time!". She gave her a triumphant grin and raised the dagger for the killing blow.

"I will." Angelus suddenly breathed in her ear.

Faith hadn't heard him approach, and he must have moved with an incredible speed. She tried to lash out with her knife behind her shoulder, but he had her arm in an iron grip and sank his long teeth into her neck. At first she felt the pain, but then she felt an enormous relief and sudden pleasure, almost as if she had an orgasm. She kicked and tried to cry out, but all that escaped her lips was a quiet moan as she began to loose control over her legs. She slowly sacked onto the floor, Angelus hands still tight around her chin and arm, and she felt more and more tired.

A shroud began to lower itself over her eyes, while she softly moaned for him to stop. But in truth she wouldn't want him to ever stop, this was beyond any pleasure she had aver felt. Finally he began to release his grip of her, and she slowly realized that this was the end, he had fed of her and now she was spent. Darkness took over from the grey world, and she felt herself falling into a deep sleep, the troubles of the world finally leaving her.

Angelus tossed the lifeless form away from Buffy and scooped her up in his arms.

"Let's go back to my place, lover. Too many emotions and dramatic statements here for my taste." He started to walk towards the door while Buffy leaned in and drew in the familiar scent and put a hand around his neck.

"OK," she whispered as she looked over his shoulder on the scene behind them. The blood she had lost and the blood that still streamed out of Faith made a big red pool on the other side of the room. She knew that she had forgotten someone, but right now it didn't matter. Angel held her in his arms, and she was finally going home with him again after all these years.

* * *

><p>Spike hurried through the streets. He didn't care if he still wasn't fully healed, Buffy needed him. It was Willow who had told him, first that Xander and Anya were dead, then that they found Faith dead in the Magic Box with Giles locked in a cupboard. The whole f*cking world was falling to pieces of late, the bad things had just been piling up and the end was nowhere in sight.<p>

The police had found out that not all the blood in the shop had been from Faith, a near lethal quantity had been from someone else. Spike didn't need to wait for some lab to test it to know that it was Buffy's, all he needed to do was find out where the bastard had taken her.

He had already checked at the mansion, but there was no sign of any of them there. He had caught Angel's scent, but it was days old and he hadn't revisited the place from what he could see. So now he scoured all the hideouts he thought Angelus might enjoy. He knew that beauty and class had always been more important than safe locations for Angelus, say what you wanted about the bugger but he definitely had style. The mansion had been a bust, the other old houses around Sunnydale had all been empty, or had a distinct lack of dead bodies, so now he was searching the nicer flats in town for clues. He knew from Buffy that the mayor had owned several of the finest one's and had given one to Faith, so Angelus might have taken residence in one of them when he arrived with Faith.

He walked up to the white door and knocked loudly. If there was no one there they wouldn't answer, and if it was Angelus in there, he wouldn't answer either. After a few minutes of waiting he took a step back and kicked the door in. That definitely made him feel better, door-kicking really had a way of cheering an angry man up. He took out the stake he kept in his jacket and stepped inside, ready for anything. But as he had suspected there was a complete lack of fancy pansies, there was however a faint scent of vampire in the air that could definitely be him. Spike walked around the spacious apartment and let his smell guide him, there had definitely been a vampire in here a few days ago.

As he passed the window a movement caught his eyes. Someone dressed in dark colors, and a lot bigger than a normal man. He slid behind the curtain and peeked his head out far enough to glimpse who it was. Sure enough he saw the trademark hairstyle of the sodding bastard and his favorite deep red shirt. To Spike's surprise however he didn't seem to be moving on, he had stopped on the other side of the street and was taking a smoke. Had he seen him? He was definitely clever enough not to

reveal any knowledge about Spike's position if he had caught a glimpse. But Spike was fairly sure he had been hidden behind the curtain and out of sight from the street as he was searching the flat.

"What are you doing you murderous bastard?" he muttered as he continued to watch Angelus, standing there under a streetlight in full view of the street and smoking.

He had always been a cocky guy, but with the entire town out in search for him and the witch in a berserker rage about the loss of her friends the guy should definitely show more caution. There was something fishy about this, he must have some devilish plan which he was planning to set in motion, or else he would be going somewhere else. Angelus had never been one to stand and fight a hopeless fight, and he had all he wanted in any case.

He looked down as Angelus lit another cigarette, still standing like a statue out there, not moving or looking for something, just staring in front of himself. So why hadn't he just left with her? It made no sense whatsoever. This was definitely not his trademark, he usually left after causing as much damage as he wanted to enjoy for the moment, and then he moved on with whatever he had collected as a trophy. Sometimes it was a jewel for Darla, sometimes a dagger or sword for himself, and sometimes with another protege to take under his wings and turn into a monst...

Surely he hadn't turned her? As he felt a chill creep up his spine he realized that that was the only logical explanation for him staying this long. He had turned Buffy, and now he wanted to unleash her on her friends to see if they really could kill her. Whatever he had done to her, Spike would never judge her, he would protect her and keep her safe from whatever might harm her.

Finally something happened down in the street. A big van had just driven into the alley next to where Angelus was standing, and he took a quick look around the street before he followed it into the deeper darkness.

Spike immediately ran to the door, and then on to the stairs. He took every flight of stairs with one big jump and arrived at the ground floor within seconds. He then darted along the shadows of his side of the street before rushing over to the other side and climbing up the fire escape to the top of the roof of the building on the right side of the alley. He ran across the roof as silently as possible until he heard voices at the very end of the alley.

As he reached them and leaned over the edge to see what was happening he saw the strangest gathering. About ten big hulking vampires and a big green demon where holding a giant rocky and horned demon in massive chains. Angelus was standing right in front of it and speaking in his usual calm and icy tone.

"You did it in LA, so you can do it here. The stone is right here, all you need to do is say those words you know and then it's good bye sunshine and welcome darkness." he was holding some kind of primitive knife that seemed to have the same rocky shape as the massive demon.

"You killed my master Angelus, now she cannot give birth to herself in this world. You have failed your task.". The demon didn't seem to care very much about the chains around him. His voice sounded like someone who simply had stopped caring for anything in the world.

"Sorry about that, but how was I supposed to know some demon god was coming to give us world-peace. I would have stopped her much sooner if I had known that, peace is for the weak and I know you are not weak.". He started to twirl the knife in his hands, and then he stabbed the demon in the gut with it. The demon gave out a load roar and the vamps around him had trouble keeping him in his kneeling position.

"I know you wont die from that, so I will keep stabbing until you do as I command. It's what you want in any case, you where never the peaceful type as I recall. You of all would never have wanted world-peace, she simply used you like a dummy. Do something on your own accord for once, give us darkness.". Angelus took out an orb and held it in front of the demon.

At first the demon didn't seem to react, then finally he started to mutter some words, but Spike was too far away to hear them. Then the demon seemed to breathe on the orb and it disappeared. But as Spike look closer he saw that it had been inclosed in some kind of dark cloud. And from it something seamed to be streaming towards the sky, only that in the darkness around him it was impossible for him to make out that it was simply more darkness streaming towards the sky.

"Now that wasn't too hard was it?" Angelus jested as he stored the orb inside his coat. "Take him away and sever his arms and legs. Make sure no one will accidentally find him.". He turned and disappeared into the building opposite of Spike while his lackeys started to hack away at the roaring demon.

"What the hell did they do?" Spike wondered silently muttering as he made his way to the very end of the alley and crossed over a few led pipes to the other building and slipped inside a window. He ran to the other side and just caught a glimpse of Angelus heading towards the bronze.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong peaches," he muttered to himself as he quietly slipped out of the building and headed towards the bronze. "But didn't you have a room around here? Never thought you would go back to something like that again."

And sure enough he saw Angelus disappear down a flight of stairs and heard the quiet opening and closing of a door. This was it! This was where he had kept her for the past three days, right under their very noses. No one had been there since Angel's departure for LA, he thought. He hadn't heard Buffy mentioning it a single time, and the other Scoobies had been just as quiet about it. But he had heard from Dru that Angel had been living above ground the first time he arrived here. And when Angelus had been released for the first time, he had returned to "my place" as he called it, to torture the poor girl for _her_ first time.

So, storming in wasn't an option. He wasn't fully healed, and when Angelus had finished torturing him he would simply relocate. Spike needed to bring all the firepower he could. The witch, the watcher, the friendly demons and maybe even the police. He wasn't going to give Angelus even the smallest chance to get away this time. He turned and headed towards the watchers home, time was of the essence, they needed to hit his place come daybreak to stop him from getting assistance from his thugs.

* * *

><p>Angelus threw the key on the desk as he entered his place. He surveyed the room, Buffy was still in bed, her feet chained to the wall. And his new guest seemed to have returned from the nightly hunt.<p>

"How is our slayer doing?" he said as he walked over to Buffy and gave her a glass of water. "All healed up? You should be up and running by now... Figuratively speaking.". He gave her a playful grin.

She had learned to discern one smile from the other during her three days here. Sometimes he smiled with his whole face, that meant he had just done something or thought about doing something horrible. Sometimes the corner of his mouth just twitched, and that meant he was actually amused. And sometimes he had a small smile on his lips and a dark glint in his eyes, that meant he wanted to kill something. Now he was giving her the biggest smile she had ever seen, and that worried her more than anything she had seen so far in her life. He had already corrupted one slayer into killing one of her closest friends, and she knew this was something just as bad.

"I am all right. So you can let me go now." she gave him as much of an angry glare as she dared. She was still afraid he might rip her throat out at any minute.

Angelus slumped down in a chair and gave her a long curious look before he answered.

"No. I want you around for this.".

A voice carried to them from the other side of the apartment.

"Did he follow you?". The speaker was standing in the shadows, and Buffy couldn't make out who it was from where she lay. But the voice was eerily familiar.

"I made sure he did. He doesn't know what the Beast did, it was too dark. But I made sure he saw me walking back here.". He lit another cigarette, took a look at Buffy's reproachful face and immediately put it out. He did it without noticing, and when the thought caught up with him he became a bit irritated.

"The idiot will do exactly what we expect him to do." he hissed angrily to the corner, giving the shadowy person a glare as if they had made him do something disgusting.

"Don't underestimate my Spike, he can surprise you.". The speaker walked into the light, and Buffy immediately recognized the tall dark beauty that was Drusilla. Wow, things were really going back to how they had been all those years ago, Buffy thought to herself.

"It's not me who will be surprised, he won't know what hit him when I'm done.".

"What if he brings that dreadful witch? She is very powerful, and she will hurt us badly for what you did to the boy and the girl." Drusilla took the chair opposite of Angelus,crossed her legs and studied his face intently. "We wont survive fire daddy, she will burn us to the ashes we all will be one day. All to ashes.".

Angelus gave her a cold smile, as if he hadn't thought about that. The last three days hadn't been spent clipping his toe nails, he had planned and prepared. This would be the last big fight in Sunnydale, it would all be decided at dawn. And he already felt the rush before the kill, this would be his greatest masterpiece.

"I have prepared everything Dru. The witch won't be a problem, and no matter how much support he musters there is one thing he can't take in account...". He gave her a knowing look, while Buffy strained to hear everything. What could possibly be his ace?

"He is counting on dawn to lock me inside, and to keep my friends away. He will strike before the sun rises so he himself can lead the attack, he will feel the dawn coming. But he won't know that there won't be a dawn. He just heard me talk of darkness, but he doesn't know that I really meant the sunlight. So he will come, expecting to corner me, we will face him and whatever he brought, and then we end it. I will bring down everything I've got on them, and then we will see what the witch can do to harm us.". He leaned back and gave Dru a victorious smile.

Buffy sat there in shock. Her friends where walking into a trap, and they would have no one to warn them about it unless she could get away. She began pulling at the chain again, trying to loosen its foundation in the wall without alerting Angelus. But he heard better than she thought, as he rose and walked up to the bed and sat down beside her. But he didn't harm her, or even threaten her, he simply sat down next to her.

He lifted his hand and brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes, looking cold and distant but still lifting away the hair with the gentlest of touches. In that moment she saw some of the old Angel surface within him, the deep bond they shared, that transgressed right and wrong, souls and even death. He looked so like his old self in that moment that Buffy lifted her own hand to his face and let it glide down the side of his face, and then into his dark and ruffled hair. They seemed to be locked in a memory of old, where Buffy was secretly kissing him outside her window, when he had been her boyfriend and all that scared her was a history test. She leaned closer to him, and as she saw him lean in too she closed her eyes.

Kissing the soulless vampire who killed her friends must give her an express ticket to hell, but in that moment she didn't care, all she wanted was to feel his lips against hers, his skin against hers, and hear him whisper how much he loved her in her ear. But before their lips met he whispered to her.

"It's not the monster in me that needs killing Buffy.". He stood up and walked away from the bed. Leaving an even more heartbroken Buffy behind.

"I still love you Angel.". She whispered to herself before she turned around and started to cry into the pillow. To be so close to him, and yet so far away. In this very bed where they had experienced the moment of true happiness, in the room where he had belittled her for it the day after.

She didn't see Angelus leaning against the door outside, still holding it ready for the close. She didn't know he had heard her, and she didn't hear how he whispered back.

"That's why it has to end tomorrow.". And he closed the door and walked away with Drusilla to prepare for dawn.

* * *

><p>Spike stood ready. He had Willow on his right and Giles on his left. Behind them an assortment of former students of Sunnydale high, and friends from the town (both human and demons) stood at the ready. They were facing the Bronze, with a dozen police ready on the roofs with crossbows instead of guns, everyone of the rest armed with stakes. If he hadn't been so tense for the fight he might have been impressed by just how many had turned up. There were at least s many as when they had fought the Mayor Giles had noted earlier, although Spike hadn't been present for that event in the past.<p>

"Giles?" he asked over his shoulder. "Are the kids ready?".

Giles had a cold and deadly expression. He had slept drunkenly through the stabbing and kidnapping of his slayer, and he intended to make up for it today.

"They are as ready as they ever can be. This won't be the first time they fight for this town.". He held two small crossbows in his hands, and had several stakes at the ready. His face was covered in a three day stubble, and his eyes were red from absence of sleep.

Spike turned to Willow, glancing at her already black eyes.

"Ready to burn him into a crisp cutie?". Willow didn't say anything, but gave him a stare that made even his blood freeze. "Guess that means yes.".

"Alright people." he shouted to them all. "Let's kill this sodding bastard!". And he started to advance.

He wasn't surprised as he saw Angelus emerge from the stairs, but more so when he saw Dru follow him.

"Dru?". When had she got here? He hadn't seen her since he had threatened to stake her to prove his love for Buffy. She looked just as graceful and deadly as always in her old red gown.

Angelus and Drusilla walked the short distance to Spike and his group, and stopped a few yards in front of them. Angelus was giving them all the cold, deadly smile that Spike recognized as his expression before a kill.

"So many friends you brought Willy." he stated as he surveyed the assembled host. He took in the crossbows, the stakes and above all the trembling hands as most of them recognized him from his good days. Many of them hadn't known he was the vampire they were supposed to kill. "So many children. Why don't you let us settle this peacefully as grownups?".

"I prefer bashing you bloody head in if you don't mind." Spike retorted. Angelus seemed too calm, and only bringing Drusilla if he had expected them seemed like suicide. "Sun will be up soon, we booth feel it. And when it is, we will burn you out of your hole and turn you into a nice neat dust pile.". There was definitely something wrong, his gaze flickered around nervously for some sign of an ambush on the ambushers.

"Looking for someone?" Angelus leered at him. "Nothings coming."

"Sure, the great Angelus didn't find any goons to do his bitch work for him?" Spike gave him a disgusted look.

"I didn't say that." Angelus took a step closer, now barely a few feet from Spike. "I said; _nothing is coming_, the sun should have been up by now shouldn't it?".

Spike looked up in the dark sky, and then down to Angelus again.

"You gave yourself darkness as cover." he whispered, almost awestruck at the ingenuity of it.

"And every single creature that enjoys it in this town, including several of your friends back there.". Suddenly he turned his gaze up towards the roofs around them and roared;

"NOW!"

* * *

><p><strong>Another cliffhanger guys:D I know I'm evil, but I hope that makes you want to read the continuation even more as there are some things happening neither Spike or Angelus are prepared for. <strong>

**Hope you liked it, and hope you give me a review with your thought's on the story and how you want it to continue. **

**Unto chapter 5 for me then;)**


	5. Chapter 5 The Battle Of Sunnydale

**The battle of Sunnydale**

**Here it finally is. This story seemed to write it self, I just couldn't stop typing. There's going to be a lot of heartbreak and a lot of action. **

**Just to give you an idea of how much work got into this chapter, I need about an hour for each page as I watch a lot of Buffy in between to get inspiration and recall past events. And then between 20 minutes and half an hour to correct every page as I'm not a native speaker and make a LOT of mistakes. And this chapter became 11 pages long. So I put most of my Friday evening, all of Saturday and the entire evening of Sunday into it. Hope you like my work, as we are now past the halfway point with the end in sight. **

* * *

><p>"NOW!". Angelus shouted, and around them all hell broke loose.<p>

On the rooftops the policemen where swarmed by dozens of vampires, and even more where running in from the adjoining streets. As big a force as Spike had managed to gather, he could not compete with the hordes of creatures drawn to the hellmouth and the legend of Angelus.

Drusilla took two quick steps up to Willow, grabbed her by the throat and looked into her black eyes. She then held up two fingers in level with their locked gazes and spoke her own incantation.

"Be in my eyes... Be in me..." she took a step back and mustered Willow from top to bottom, before looking back into her eyes. "See what your friends now are.".

And as Willow looked around, all the humans appeared as demons, and the demons as humans. She began flinging fists of fire in all direction, exploding with a massive force. This coupled with the overwhelming number of demons streaming in was quickly reducing Spike's numbers. He did however not have much time to elaborate on the present condition as he was fighting Angelus together with a few demons that had joined his side. And even though they had Angelus outnumbered he had no problem with keeping them in check while his henchmen where slaughtering the people all around them.

"Spike!" Giles shouted, dusting two vampires with his crossbows and stabbing a third with a stake. "We need to retreat. They are too many.".

"Do it!" Spike roared back as he gave Angelus a hit that sent him flying into a group of green horned demons. "I will take care of Buffy.".

Spike made to run for the apartment, but Angelus intercepted him and blocked the way.

"So Spike..." they both changed into their demon visage as they stood there staring into each others yellow eyes, the air seemed to burn where their gazes met. "This is it, this is where you get off.". And they launched themselves against one another again teeth and stakes ready for the kill.

Spike managed do deflect Angelus stake, and plunged his teeth into his grandsire's neck, tearing into his flesh and spraying blood down himself. Angelus held a hand to his wound and tried to keep it closed, but Spike was standing before him, ready for the kill.

"No Angel, this is where _you _get off!".

As Angelus's and Spike's fight had continued, Giles had managed to make his way to Willow and recite a spell that took her out of her hypnosis. Befuddled as she was when it broke, the first demons she laid her eyes on where burned to crisp by a handful of fire she threw at them. Staggering forward she saw Spike standing before Angelus, stake at the ready, but she didn't realize that it was Spike, as dizzy as she was, and launched a massive fireball in their direction. It struck true, engulfing Angelus in flames and throwing Spike into the wall of the building with such force that his head cracked and he kept lying with his face down as he hit the ground.

At that moment Buffy had emerged and she barely took in the battle raging in the alley, all she saw was Willow launching a fireball against Spike and Angelus. And she saw how Angelus was engulfed in flames, screaming in pain and trying to put it out. In that moment she had to decide, her friends... Or Angel...

So she ran towards Angelus and started to quench the flames with her jacket, and then she lifted him up on his feet, glad about her super strength as he leaned on her , and half dragged and half bore him to his car. She then started the engine and took off towards her home, barely listening to the screams of the fighting and dying behind her.

* * *

><p>The fight was not progressing exactly as the demons had hoped, the loss of Angelus demoralized them more than the loss of Spike demoralized the humans. Angelus fury was what had brought them here, and with him gone their own self preservation weighed more heavily and made many of them turn and run. The humans however where fighting for their lives, and so they had no choice but to continue on, while Giles ran about the place with his crossbows and moving down dozens of vampires and demons. And suddenly the humans got some desperately needed reinforcement, by a group of soldiers led by Riley, all of them dressed in combat gear and carrying strange short but thick guns loaded with stakes.<p>

Giles barely registered their arrival as he pounced on a skinny vampire and tried to stake him, the vamp was however more alert than the others had been and sent Giles flying with a heavy punch. As Giles landed on a heap of bodies, the vampire advanced on him with a crude smile on his bloodied lips.

"Not so fast grandpa, it's my turn now." he leered as he leaned over Giles, ready for the strike. To Giles relief Riley spotted them and quickly sent a stake right into the vampires heart, he then ran over to Giles side to drag in up on his feet before he turned to his men again.

"Take out the hostiles on the roof!" he shouted to his men while one of them got swarmed by a dozen small grey devil-like demons with very long tails, ripping of his limbs with their long razor sharp claws and eating his flesh. "Watch your backs, don't let the small grey ones get a chance to catch you with their tails."

But even with the twenty or so soldiers the humans where fighting a loosing battle. The demons had realized that there would be no dawn, and so not just vampires had flocked to the fight, but it seemed as if every single demon in Sunnydale was out for carnage.

"Retreat to the Bronze!" Riley shouted and dragged a bleeding girl with one hand, while he shot stakes in all directions with his rifle.

The street in front of the Bronze was so full of demons now that all exits seemed blocked. Giles and Riley remained at the doors to the Bronze until the last of the living had managed to get inside, two of them dragging Willow between them, still enraged by magic as she was and throwing handfulls of fire towards the advancing horde.

"Let's lock this place down tight, I want men on every possible entrance and scouts on the walkway to give info to me and Giles." Riley said to his men and the assembled people before him. He then took position with Giles in the middle of the Bronze with five others armed with crossbows, ready to fill any gap made in their defenses. The rest of the group quickly scoured the place for possible entrances, there where quite a few, and readied themselves for the inevitable onslaught.

"Sorry I couldn't make it here sooner, we arrived yesterday to pick up some supplies and were set to leave at dawn, only it never came." Riley said to Giles as he wiped the stale demon-blood from his face with a cloth. "Figured it had something to do with Buffy so I headed to your place when I caught sight of the guys outside swarming towards the Bronze. So, what's happening?"

Giles took out a handkerchief and wiped his glasses before he answered in his usual calm voice.

"Angel lost his soul in LA, came back to Sunnydale, set Faith to kill Anya and Xander and then attack Buffy. He then kidnapped her, so we gathered our strength and tried to smoke him out of his hole. We didn't count on him blotting out the sun and bringing every single demon in Sunnydale down on us, so we got pretty slaughtered out there, and then you arrived.". He took a quick look around the place, noticing all the windows and the few defenders.

"They probably won't attack us here unless Angelus leads them, they are probably only going to sit out there waiting for us, and for him to return.".

Riley nodded.

"And that's going to take a while, I saw Willow set him on fire. I didn't see what happened after that though. Did he get away?" he asked, looking around at the people around him. Neither seemed to have noticed what had happened to him in the chaos outside, one had noticed that he was indeed gone, so he probably had crawled away to safety somewhere.

"Well, at least this means we get a respite till he comes back. We can take care of the wounded and see to our defenses." Giles immediately grabbed a table and walked over to the nearest window on the second floor to board it up.

Riley remained where he was, keeping a watchful eye on things.

"I just wander where he went. Probably somewhere underground.".

The men around him gave him knowing nods. That was definitely what the vampire had done, slither down in his little hole to heal up for the next fight.

* * *

><p>Buffy arrived at her house within minutes, having driven as fast as she dared in the complete darkness that seemed to have engulfed Sunnydale and its surroundings. She jumped out of the car, ran around it and opened the door on Angel's side, more carrying than leading him up to the house. She kicked the door open and quickly walked inside, Angel leaning heavily on her and barely conscious.<p>

"I could really need some blood right now Buffy." he muttered as she made him lie down on the couch, taking out a knife and cutting open his clothes.

"I've got some of Spike's in the refrigerator, be right back.", she quickly went into the kitchen and found some pigs blood Spike had left in there, she took it out and put it in the microwave. No time to heat it up properly she thought, he just has to live with what we got for now. She knew it wouldn't be as good as human blood, but that was out of the question, he'd had his fill of that already.

After it was done heating she took the cup and sat down next to Angel, tilting his head and helping him drink it. This inevitably brought back memories from when Faith had poisoned him and she had sat by his bed for hours, watching for any sign of improvement.

"Funny how this reminds me of when you where last in my care. I thought you'd change your mind when I'd brought you back from death, but you left anyway. Always doing what was right, that's your thing." she babbled away, trying not to stare at his burnt skin and ravaged neck. At least the wound had already closed itself.

Taking of his clothes had meant taking of a lot of skin, as it had melted into his clothes. She knew it would heal within a few days, but it was still horrible to look at. She continued to talk, trying to keep him calm, and actually secretly happy that he was here with her. It was as if she was seventeen again, and she was playing nursemaid after one of their many brutal battles against the demons in Sunnydale. Only she had never seen him quite so hurt in her entire life.

"Remember when Dru got her strength back and I had to play nursemaid for you and your broken arm and hand?" she looked at his face, wanting him to give her that look that meant he was her Angel again. He had tried to repress that side of him for the past days, but she had seen it surface from time to time, especially when she brought back old memories.

"I don't recall I ever asked you to do that." he muttered, his eyes closed and his his jaw clenched against the pain. Buffy looked down on her hands, so he was back to his bad self. But as she looked up again he gave her a smile she remembered all to well, he remembered something he actually liked. "But I remember how you pushed me down on that sofa and jabbered about this and that, especially that boyfriend of your mom's, while you bandaged me like I was a child. Seems like a bit of Deja Vu here.".

He chuckled as he went down memory lane, and Buffy could not help but smile. Angel was not completely gone, the memories had never left him, and they finally seemed to turn him back into something he used to be. However much he might fight it, it was your memories and actions that shaped you, and now they where bringing Angel back to her.

* * *

><p>Drusilla bent down and rolled Spike on his back. A trail of blood went from the top of his head and down to his neck, the bleeding had stopped but the wound still looked nasty.<p>

"Spike?" she whispered in his ear. "Wake up Spike, we need to gather the family. The boy's aren't doing well without Angel, they need him." she looked over to where the demons where gathering outside the Bronze.

From time to time a vampire or other demon would run towards a window, only to be staked the minute he went through. Drusilla looked down into Spike's eyes again, searching for some kind of recognition. After a few minutes Spike seemed to gather his bearings and turned his head towards her.

"Dru?" he wheezed, his throat thick with stale blood. "What are you doing?".

"I'm bringing back my William." she responded and did her familiar enchantment. "Be, in my eyes... Be, in me... Forget all you ever remember of the slayer, forget the worries and memories of the past and remember the hate towards them all.". She held her hands over his eyes and waited for a while. Then she slowly took them away and watched him intently, searching for a reaction. But he only laid there, with a slight smile on his lips.

Suddenly he jumped up, straightened his coat and turned round to Drusilla.

"Hello Dru, seems like I haven't seen you in an age." he walked over to her and gave her a long deep kiss. As he pulled back he took a look around, noticing the piles of corpses and the demons around the Bronze. "Well what have we here? Have you been having a party without me?"

"You were invited my sweet Spike, but you showed up late." she gave him a childish grin as she slowly walked around him, letting her hand brush over his chest .

"Seems your friends are getting roughed up in there, are you leading them all?" he looked at her incredulously, not remembering her as the type demons followed.

"Angel does, he gave us eternal night for us to play. The big bad sun is gone."

"Really?" he looked up at the sky. "Well I'll be damned, the bugger finally made something right. Wait... Did you say Angel leads them?" he rounded on her, and when she nodded a cruel grin spread across his face. "He's back in form then. Did he get bored with this silly lot and went off hunting, or what?"

Drusilla shook her head and looked incredibly sad as she answered.

"The bad witch burned him horribly, and the slayer took him away. She wants him to forget about his family, she doesn't let him be daddy, only that Angel beast.", she hissed angrily, remembering how he had set her and Darla on fire.

"Then let's find the silly ponce and bring him back. If he really brought us eternal darkness then I think he wants to be out here enjoying it with friends." laughing merrily Drusilla walked beside him as they gathered a few vampires and set of along Angelus's and Buffy's trail.

Spike felt the wound on his head and muttered something about bloody witches before he ripped off a bit from one of the dead humans shirt to clean up the blood.

The smell of burnt flesh wasn't too hard to follow, and they soon realized that she had been heading home. As they saw her house Spike stopped and rounded on the group.

"OK, so this is how it's going to go. You can't walk inside, so we make her come out. Take as much petrol from one of these garages as you can find. Someone is bound to have stuff like that lying around, and then meet up back here." he waited for them to scatter and then turned to Drusilla. "Time to burn this little mouse out of her hole."

* * *

><p>Buffy was still sitting beside Angel, holding his hand when Dawn walked in. She immediately took in the smell of burnt flesh, Angel lying on the sofa with burn marks covering the entire left side of his body, and Buffy sitting beside him whispering old jokes and memories to him.<p>

"Buffy? What's happened?" she remained in the doorway, she knew that she hadn't actually been there but she still had memories of Angelus and his reign of terror. Angelus on the other hand had not been in Sunnydale when she had arrived so he didn't know who she was until Buffy spoke up.

"Dawn, get beck to your room. I need to take care of Angel right now but then I need to go back to the Bronze, the other might still need me."

"Take care of? You are just sitting there holding his hand and talking to him. Anyone can do that."

"Dawn! I said go back to your room!". But as Dawn made to argument some more a Molotov cocktail crashed through the window and set the floor in the living room on fire.

"Dawn!" Buffy screamed, running over to her terrified that she might have been hurt. "Are you OK" she asked, looking for burns, but Dawn had not been hit by any petrol or flame.

Now things where looking even worse as she heard the crashes of more cocktails hitting the house outside. She tried to get back to Angel, still unable to get up from the sofa, but was beaten back by the flames.

"Angel!" she cried, trying desperately to get through the raging inferno.

Dawn was trying desperately to get her to leave as the room was engulfed in flames from all sides, but she couldn't let him burn to death before her eyes. As she watched he finally got up and staggered of to a window, not having to breathe made it easier to navigate through the smoke she thought. She waited for him to disappear out the window before she turned and ran out the front door with Dawn.

They were immediately jumped by several vampires. She took out the stake she always kept on herself and dusted one easily, but two of them grabbed her from behind and threw her across the porch. But she was all too used to this maneuver and easily rolled back on her feet again in one smooth motion. She ran back and dragged one of the vampires off of Dawn and threw him screaming into the burning house. As she turned she saw the remaining two vampires disappearing round the bend. As she followed them she came across a strange sight, Angel was standing in front of Drusilla who was holding her two fingers first in front of his eyes and then in front of her own. They were surrounded by at least a dozen other vamps, _including Spike! _She looked at him in shock as he turned and gave her a mocking look.

"So here you are love. Sorry bout the house, but we needed to get to Angelus here and I didn't want to enter alone into the slayers own house." he gave her a mock bow and held out his hand towards Angel. "May I introduce you to someone I think you've never met. I give you Angelus, the scourge of Europe."

Angel turned round and watched them all with cold eyes, making even Drusilla and Spike shrink back a little.

"How far did you erase his mind?" Spike whispered to Drusilla watching warily as Angelus slowly got back on his feet.

"Every good deed he did since the gypsies cursed him." she trembled a little as Angelus walked closer to them and came to a halt barely an inch from her face.

"Where is Darla?" he asked her, giving her and Spike murderous glances.

"Dead mate." Spike answered. "You killed her."

Angelus looked him up and down and extended one hand to touch the fabric of his leather duster.

"I don't recall. She must have something rather good to make me kill her. What was it?" he looked from Spike to Drusilla, waiting for an explanation.

"She tried to kill that slayer." Spike answered and pointed towards Buffy, still standing there frozen.

Angelus turned and mustered Buffy from head to toe, and then changed into his demon face.

"Well, I'm hungry, so let's not dwell on the past.". He and the rest of the vampires ran towards Buffy, who turned and dragged Dawn with her into the car. She took of with full throttle, glancing behind herself one more time to see Angelus with his demon face standing on the road.

"Buffy?" Dawn asked, trying not to upset her sister who seemed on the verge of a major breakdown. "Where are we going?"

"To the Bronze, I need Willow." she stared down the road as if she wanted to kill every single stone on the road.

"What for?"

"I'm going to shove a soul so deep down Angel's throat that it never escapes again. And then I'm going to beat him senseless for leaving me on prom after I got that killer dress."

* * *

><p>"What do we do now?" Spike asked, kissing Drusilla softly. Relishing the fact that he still had his girl, whereas Angelus was without his Darla.<p>

"You said that the people fighting against us are holed up in some club?"

"Yes," Drusilla answered, walking up to him and pointed towards the Bronze. "They don't want to come out and play."

Spike and Angelus both looked back at the burning house behind them and gave each other a knowing glance.

"Then we make them come out and play. I can't do much right now but give me a few days and I will be up and running.". He sat down on a bench beside the sidewalk, feeling his burns.

"No worries mate." Spike said as he took a seat next to him. "We can keep them holed up as they are. But we should probably head there right now unless we want the other buggers to leave and do more fun stuff." he lit two cigarets and gave one to Angelus.

"So why did that slayer look at me so strangely? Have I killed anyone she knows already?" he took a drag and slowly stood up, taking of at a slow pace towards the Bronze.

"Oh yes daddy, many of her friends." Drusilla answered, holding his arm for support. "But that is not why she looks at you that way. She loves you deeply, and does not know that the old Angel is back."

"Well then it's time she remembers.". But as they headed down the road he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he couldn't remember either, something about her just seemed to stir something in him.

* * *

><p>Three days had passed. Three days of waiting and preparing for the inevitable. Buffy was sick of it, and she was even more unsure of what she would do when it all started. They had blockaded every entrance, but that meant that they couldn't get any food in and there was only enough left for a couple of days. They were hours from starvation, and if the demons kept their strange patience (courtesy of Angel no doubt) they where not going to have to do much fighting once they breached the perimeter.<p>

Riley had advocated a breakout the minute she had arrived, but both Buffy and Giles had spoken against it. She and Dawn had barely made it even though they had driven straight through the horde outside without giving them time to react. She must say that it had been strangely satisfactory as she mowed down over a dozen demons and then ran to a fire escape with Dawn, finally climbing inside a window on the second floor.

But for the last three days any attempt Riley and his men had made to get out had been rebuffed quickly and decisively, being two-hundred-and-sixty-four something years old sure gave you perks (especially if you had spent the majority of them killing people). They had not seen Angel out there, Spike and Drusilla were his lieutenants and kept an eye on things, but she felt with her strange "Angel sense" that he was close by. He probably spent his time in his apartment healing, and even more probably, figuring out the best way to kill them all.

Drusilla had foreseen every skirmish before they even had started to plan it, and then Spike had lead the counterattacks with a fury that she hadn't see since he had attacked parent-teacher night all those years ago. She remembered Angel's words about his former comrade in arms; _"once he starts something he doesn't stop until everything in his path is dead."_. Drusilla had restored the Scourge of Europe and William the bloody to their old and most furious selves, and they had all seen just why the four vampires had been more destructive and fearsome than any demon-god or monster in history. Their presence seemed to have an even more magnetic effect than the hellmouth ever had, demons and vampires seemed to have flocked to the darkened city in their hundreds to see for themselves the reign of the legendary Whirlwind.

What Buffy hated most was the waiting, she knew the fight might start any minute, it might also take days, but she just wanted it over with. Her old resolve had disappeared a little more each day without Xander to cheer her up, Spike to with his strange clear view of things and Angel as her rock, she just felt more and more empty and alone. And when the demons finally broke through they would finish of the last remaining vestiges of a family that she had. Giles, Willow, Dawn and Riley would probably all die. She might get out herself, but then she would be completely alone for the first time in her life. And she would be hunted by both her former lover and the love of her life, not to mention a hundred vamps out to murder the slayer.

She looked over to where Giles and Willow were sitting, still arguing over the restoration spell. Willow had tried it out on the first night, but she said that Angel's soul wasn't in the ether. Whoever took it from him had stored it somewhere in a material container, and that prevented them from getting it back. For the past two days they had discussed a restoration spell that might be strong enough to draw the soul out from the container and bring it back in one sweep. But Giles had argued against it as he said that the hellmouth's power would duplicate the spell's strength tenfold, and then they couldn't know what more the spell would restore or heal than just his soul.

Buffy was so tired of the arguments all around her, people still talking about making a run for it or even facing the demons in one last big fight, and especially Giles's and Willow's incessant discussion.

But she was after all the slayer. Her job wasn't to come out the other side with a victory smile, she knew that sooner or later it had to end. She had died twice already and it had not done much to her resolve, but now she was suddenly crippled? Right then and there she finally made up her mind, if she was going to die then it was better to go out with a bang.

"Willow!" Buffy shouted across the crowded room, she already felt some of her iron resolve return. Angel had once said it was one of the things he liked about her the most. "Enough of this waiting. Can you do the spell today?"

Willow exchanged looks with Giles before she answered.

"Give me fifteen minutes and I should be ready. Then it's going to take about twenty minutes to perform the spell.".

Giles shook his head and made to argue, but Buffy held up a hand and gave him one of her coldest stares.

"We don't have time Giles. I didn't want us to attack before, because I just couldn't face meeting my former lover and my former boyfriend. Now Willow says she can fix it, well in that case we will have two very strong allies out there. And as it happens they are the one thing that seems to hold that group together, we take them out than the rest will scatter." to her surprise Giles nodded and beckoned Riley to come over. After he had explained the situation to him Riley nodded and turned to Buffy.

"So what did you have in mind? Full attack or some minor diversion and let the vamps start the chaos out there?" he asked as they walked over to the bar, where they had drawn up a crude map of the Bronze and its surroundings.

Buffy studied the map, weighing the different options against each other, finally deciding on the big attack.

"We need to attack them with all we've got, just before Willows spell is done. That way we can maximize the confusion when Spike and Angel turn to us. And if they turn then Drusilla is probably either going to flee or stay and help them." the others gave her doubtful glances, but she was certain of it. "Look, she only ever does things to be with one of them. She never liked being on her own, she once said that even a soulless vampire can love and I think she really loves Angel and Spike."

"To have all three of them on our side is definitely going to swing this in our favor." Giles conceded.

"Now for the attack..." Riley said, and they all leaned in on the map. Buffy felt for the first time in over two weeks that things might actually improve. Then of course she might just have jinxed it.

* * *

><p>"Buffy!" Riley shouted as he jumped down the stairs and came to a halt in front of her. "Cancel the attack, they are coming.".<p>

"Willow just needs a few more minutes, tell everyone to just hold!". _Damn it!_ She thought to herself, they were just going for the offensive. Drusilla must have foreseen their attack again, hopefully not what Willow was planning as well. If the three vampires had left to take shelter from her spell than they would probably all be dead inside here within the hour.

She ran up the stares and looked out the window. The constant darkness made it hard to see, but her slayer eyes quickly adapted and she could see the three vampires walking casually in front of a huge host of demons.

"Here we go then." Buffy muttered and she braced herself when she saw the demons picking up speed and launching themselves on the fire escapes, and bringing makeshift rams with them for the doors.

She dusted the first vampire to come through the window so quickly that it dissolved mid-jump. The second tried to kick her away from the window, but she dragged him inside and finished him off. The third attacker was a green demon with a face shaped like a lizard, her silver knife took care of him as she opened his throat. His blood spattered of her clothes as he fell kicking towards the ground floor, but she had no time to think before two more vampires jumped inside.

All around her the demons were attacking in force, probing every entrance for a weakness. But Riley and his group filled every gap and made short work of anyone that broke through. Willow was still sitting on the floor and reciting from an old ledger she had kept in her handbag, while Giles was standing beside her with his two crossbows, ready to kill anything that tried to attack her.

They almost seemed to be winning, but then suddenly both Drusilla and Spike came in through a hole they seemed to have made in the ceiling. The two vampires were immediately attacked by a dozen soldiers, but they soon got reinforcements from other vampires coming through the same hole. Buffy left her place and jumped down to the ground floor, staking two vampires simultaneously before giving Spike a kick that sent him flying into the wall.

She glanced behind herself, and her blood froze in her veins. Angelus had killed two guys holding a window and taken out two soldiers on his way down, and was now facing only Giles. Abandoning the fight, she ran as fast as she could, seeing Angelus catch both arrows and flinging them aside as he rushed towards Giles. She was almost there when she felt strong hands grab her by the neck and lifting her into the air. Buffy looked down and saw a black vampire smiling up to her.

"Name's Gun cutie. And it's time to die slayer." he lunged forward and sank his teeth into her neck.

She felt the blood leaving her as he held her in his steel grip, and she tried to reach for a stake. Every second made her feel weaker and weaker, but she finally managed to grab her stake and shove it upwards. It didn't kill him, but having a feet long piece of wood showed in your gut had to hurt. Roaring in pain Gun released her and she dropped to the floor. Buffy remembered how Willow had told her of her friend Fred, who was one of Angel's guys, and that she had a boyfriend named Gun (also one of Angel's guys).

"Sorry Gun." she whispered as she took out another stake and drove it into his heart. Not waiting to see him turn to dust Buffy stumbled to her feet and headed for Willow and Giles again. As she looked up she saw how Giles was on his knees, with Angelus standing above him clad all in black and beating the life out of him.

"Angel!" she shouted hoarsely, the wound on her neck was still gushing out blood and her hand barely stemmed the flood. "I am the slayer, it's me you want."

Angelus dropped Giles to the floor and advanced on her with a cold expression. He seemed to study her for something, maybe comparing her to some other slayer he had faced.

"Something seems to draw me to you slayer." he said, seemingly more curious than afraid of the short blond girl who was bleeding to death before his eyes. "Something even stronger than the call of the hellmouth. What is it with you that's so special? I have met the likes of you before, lost some and won some, but from what I've been told by my children you love me."

He stopped in front of her and smelled the air around her before looking back into her eyes.

"A slayer in love with a vampire." he extended one hand and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes. "How romantic, pity it has to end here."

"It's not just me who loves you," she answered, giving him a defiant stare. She was not going to break down now, better to die with some dignity. "You loved me long before I even met you, you helped me, guarded me and saved me more times than I can count. You even escaped hell and came back to me."

"Liar." he took her chin in his hand and studied her intently, his grip was firm but not brutal.

"I know you feel me, inside, and I know it's not hate you feel." Buffy answered, trying not to close her eyes as she felt her eyelids getting heavier.

"Then out of love, let me end your pain.". And he leaned in, his fangs extending and finding the wound left by Gun. As she felt him sinking his fangs into her throat, the last of her resistance went away and she felt how her knees gave way.

The last thing Buffy saw was how the room was engulfed in bright light, but not as bright as the light shining from Angel's eyes as he became suddenly rigid and held her in front of him.

And in that moment her mind was awash with memories she didn't recognize. She saw herself back in Angel's place in LA. She saw herself and Angel getting attacked by a green ninja like demon and how they followed it. She saw how Angel walked to her in sunlight and how they made love in the kitchen, and on the couch, and in the bed. She was glad that she was at least rewarded with a pretty lie by the PTB's before she died, and the last thing that went through her head seemed to be her own voice whispering; _I'll never Forget, I'll never forget, I'll never forget._

And in that moment she remembered everything.

* * *

><p><strong>Whoa, so here we are. Things end as always with a big cliffhanger, and to be honest I'm not quite sure myself what happens next. I know what happens in chapter 10 and what has to lead up to it, but for chapter 6 I'm definitely open to suggestions.<strong>

**So any ideas what happens next? Give me your thoughts, and as always I love your reviews as they are what keeps me going:)**

**Have a great week and I'll probably have the next update ready by Thursday/Friday. **

**(In case your wondering, YES it's still All about ANGELUS and Buffy. So the story twist comes in the next chapter)**


	6. Chapter 6 Agony & Ecstasy

**Agony & Ecstasy.**

**Sorry for the long wait guys, I just had a crazy weekend with a big party and an even bigger hangover. We are now past the halfway point, with only four more chapters to go, and things are really starting to get weird. This is more of an intro to the next chapter, which is going to have lots of action, so this chapter is pretty slow paced and more story heavy. **

**So here is chapter 6, enjoy:)**

* * *

><p>Buffy surged forward and almost knocked Angel off his feat. She felt how her wound was closing and how all her bruises and scars healed, but that was not by far the weirdest thing that happened. Somehow Willows spell seemed to morph with the natural magic of the hellmouth and was distorting and changing everything at a rapid pace.<p>

One second the sun was gone, the next it reappeared, making vampires all around her scream in anguish, and then it disappeared again only to be replaced by an eerie red glow. Spike changed clothes into something that seemed to have been worn in the nineteenth century and having longer, slightly blond-brown hair. He seemed to be reading a poem to Angel about a raven, and then he changed back into a long dark coat, sporting a blood-smeared face and a grin.

Willow's hair got longer and flatter, and she was suddenly dressed like she had been the day she had met Buffy. Giles went from tweed to a leather jacket, loosing at least thirty years along the way while playing a heavy metal solo on a guitar, and then back again.

All around her people and objects seemed to change as if they were traveling through time and space. She found herself at a wedding fighting Faith, no Angelus, no Giles, no a big candy bar. Then suddenly not fighting but being the bride and waiting for a dashing looking Angel, no Spike, and then back to Angel, only his clothes were ripped and he held her mothers severed head in his hand.

The scenery changed and she was back in college kissing Riley. He seemed as surprised as she was while Oz floated by singing "Yellow submarine". She turned round and found Angel standing behind her, his face seemed to emanate chock and betrayal.

"Angel?" She tried to push Riley away, but Angel already drew a dagger and slit his own throat while he seemed to vaporize.

"Angel no!", she screamed as he disappeared.

Buffy turned and tried to drag Riley, no Dawn, no Riley, with her towards her door. But she seemed to be stuck in the floor.

Giles entered and bent down to her and whispered in her ear;

"You've lived too long, only one prophecy remains for you to fulfill. The one that makes Angel destroy the world to Shanshu." he smiled as he turned into Darla. "Don't look upset little girl, we always knew you were just a tool for the powers to play with. Slayers fight and die, but vampires live forever.". She turned and left Buffy sitting on Angel's bed, her clothes the same as they had been the first night they had been together.

Finally everything was once again filled with bright light and Buffy found herself falling. She landed on a hard, cold, floor. She looked around and saw that she was back in the Bronze again. Putting a hand on her neck, but the only thing there was the scar she had got from Angel three years ago.

When she got up on her feet she noticed some disturbing things, for one there were dozens of skeletons lying around the place. The place itself didn't seem to have changed since the fight, the windows were mostly still boarded up and there was still a hole in the roof where Spike and Drusilla had entered. But even besides the skeletons everything seemed wrong, she felt as if she had woken up after a very long sleep.

Buffy made her way across the floor, stepping around heaps of dried bones and skulls that seemed to follow her as she walked by, and walking through the smashed in door to the alley outside. There was no sun, but no darkness either, everything was lit up with a strange red light, as if the red morning sun was lurking just below the horizon. And that wasn't all that looked terribly wrong to her, the entire town seemed to have been burnt to ashes.

She wondered weather this was another jump through time, or one of those crazy parallel universes. Somehow she thought that it was neither, she didn't get the feeling as if she didn't belong here, just a feeling that she had been gone for a long time.

Buffy took a few steps forward and felt something like a feather brush against her feet, when she looked down she realized that she was standing in an inch of ashes that swirled around her feet as she walked. The air itself seemed darker with all the ash that floated gently from the sky, this coupled with the red light made Buffy feel like she was stuck in a nightmare. She bent down to touch the ground, but it all felt real to her and this didn't seem like a prophetic dream. Something in Willow's spell must have gone terribly wrong, maybe it had burned Sunnydale to ashes, or maybe it had transferred the entire place into some nightmarish realm.

She walked along the empty streets, every house appeared to have been consumed by flames or wrecked. Houses of friends she remembered showed no signs of life, only smashed in doors and broken windows. Were all the people in Sunnydale dead? Giles, Willow, Riley... Angel?

Had he done this? The unrelenting fury he had showed at the Bronze certainly meant he was capable, and she was more than familiar with his dark history. But an entire city burned to dust? And there didn't seem to be any police or even military around, almost as if the fallout had finally arrived. He must have moved on to other places, probably taking Drusilla and Spike with him, and if the sun was as red everywhere then it was happy hour for the demons and vampires.

She walked into a garden and sat down on the side of a pool. Fighting vampires and demons had never been easy, but being alone and lost in the world was so much worse. Not knowing who lived, if anyone, and if there were any demons left in town who would love to see her dead as well. There was no purpose for her anymore. She had done the same thing for six years now, fighting the demons of Sunnydale. But now they were gone, just as Sunnydale was gone. What was she supposed to do now?

Buffy felt how her eyes filled up with tears but furiously tried to wipe them away with her sleeve. She was the slayer! And a slayer doesn't cry, a slayer doesn't mourn and a slayer has no one but herself. She realized now why the slayers where taken from their families and friends at such a young age, they were weapons in a war and only existed to fight. If the vampires moved to another place or destroyed another town, then her job was to face them and maybe die in the attempt. Her job wasn't to keep sitting by a pool, crying over civilians.

A twig broke somewhere close, and it ripped Buffy out of her thoughts. Someone was watching her, and they were not very stealthy. She jumped on her feet and raised her stake.

"Come on out!" she shouted towards the bush where she had heard the noise. "I don't have time for your spying game."

And to her amazement Giles emerged from the bush with his mouth wide open in amazement.

* * *

><p>The light and the feeling of burning up from the inside out abated as he slowly gained consciousness. He sat up and tried to focus on his surroundings. Everything was a little blurred at first, but then he saw that he was in some kind of mansion with a cold concrete look.<p>

He rose too his feet and walked across the hall to the door and opened it slowly. He didn't remember much but from what he knew the sky wasn't supposed to have this red glow. Somehow it made him feel strong, his blood rushed through his veins and he could feel everything around him. He smelled the ash in the air, the blood smears on the door where someone had tried to flee inside only to be ripped apart on the steps, and he felt as glorious as if he were a king.

What was his name? He remembered a face that seemed to speak to him, but he couldn't make out the details. He remembered what it said, it had to have been a girl, and he remembered she was somehow important.

Suddenly the memories streamed back into his mind all at once, everything he had done in his entire existence smashed its way back into his mind. At first they seemed to be incoherent and just made him dizzy, but then they took form and flashed before his eyes.

"Close your eyes." she whispered to him, then she kissed him while he held his eyes shut. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain driving through his chest, and as he looked up he saw Buffy holding the hilt of a sword that she had rammed into his heart. He looked up at her and he couldn't understand why, she must be some demon in human shape. But as he was dragged backwards into a fury of fire, he remembered it all. All he could do was to hold a hand out to her, hoping against hope that she would drag him back from the abyss, but she only stood there as he screamed in pain and everything turned into a blinding pain.

The memory disappeared as soon as it came, and the next on took its place.

He was in such a pain, and it just didn't stop. He knew it never would, he was being punished for everything he had ever done. But suddenly he heard a voice carrying through to him, through all the pain and agony.

"Goodbye" it whispered, and it sounded like an angel. And then he saw Buffy appearing in the darkness of his mind, and she lay a ring at his feet. She rose and walked away, leaving the ring and slowly vanishing in the darkness. He fell to his feet and picked up the ring, it was shaped like two hands holding a heart with a crown above. He held it tightly to his heart and spoke silently to himself.

"I will never stop loving you.". The next thing that happened was that he fell to the ground in the mansion while the ring rolled into a corner.

The agony of these memories made Angel fall to his knees, holding his head as if he could shut the screams, tears, laughter and hate-filled memories that seemed to tear his soul apart.

The last memorie was how he stood in front of Buffy, holding her chin and speaking slowly and coldly to her.

"Then out of love, let me end your pain." and he sank his fangs into her still open wound. He drank and drank, until the world seemed to fill up with a bright searing light that engulfed everything around him.

As the memories passed he stared in front of himself, his eyes wide open with tears streaming down his face, and he began to laugh.

"Is this it?" he roared to the world around him. "Do you think this will bring me down? I am Angelus, the angel of death, the scourge of Europe. Nothing will ever take me down, I went to hell and back, I closed the hellmouth and I awoke Acathla."

He held his arms up in a victorious gesture and looked down on the burnt town with the grey air from all the dust in the wind. He smiled at his work, this was by far his masterpiece. He would bring this upon the rest of the world, if it hadn't already spread. The witch should never have dabbled in magic, he knew from the start that she was only able to become proficient in the field so quickly because of the Hellmouth. And he knew that if she would do a spell so strong that it could heal the sky, then the Hellmouth would make sure that they were in for a surprise. He had never dreamed that they would actually try to re-in soul him again, but that was Buffy for you, always trying to hold on to something good.

"I am Angelus." he whispered to himself as he began to walk down the road towards the town. "And I am forever.".

* * *

><p>"Buffy?", Giles stared at her as if she was a ghost. "How? We thought you died."<p>

"Giles!", Buffy flung herself around his neck, squeezing him until he had problems breathing. She released him and gave him a big smile. "Nothing ever gets rid of you does it?"

"I'm a lot harder to kill then it seems." Giles joked as he smiled back. "And you too. Where have you been?".

"In dreamland." she deadpanned, "I was seeing all kind of crazy stuff, and then I just woke up again exactly where I had been before. Whats happened since the battle at the Bronze?"

Giles looked at the sky and then round to the burned house behind them and back to Buffy.

"It's all so familiar to me now that I hardly notice. It has been three weeks since the Bronze, and things have really changed since then.", he sat down at the edge of the pool and waited for Buffy to sit down beside him.

"Two weeks? What happened in that time Giles? What happened to the sky, and what happened to Sunnydale?". She looked at him, but he avoided her gaze for a few moments to collect his thoughts.

"Willows spell was so powerful that it triggered the Hellmouth in some way. Everything around us changed into quite strange things for few minutes, and then everything returned to how it had been before. Only now you and Angel were gone and the sky was as red as blood, and somehow that made the vampires and demons even more powerful than before. They all lost it in those first few hours, attacking each other and us humans indiscriminately and with a hunger I have never seen.". He took off his glasses and cleaned them with napkin before he continued. " After that they rampaged across town, Spike and Drusilla leading the vampires while some strange fellow called Shaitan led the demons. After having burnt down the town and driving the humans underground they turned on each other, and for the past two weeks they have fought their war across all of Sunnydale. And here we are now." he finished with a mirthless smile.

"But why are they still all here in Sunnydale? I'd move on to another city if I was a magically enhanced and crazy demon.". Giles chuckled at Buffy's words, she was still the same old High school girl he remembered at the core.

"They would have, if they could. It seems only Sunnydale is affected by this red sun, and no one is getting in or out of here. So they kill each other over turfs, and hunt us down one by one for food. But in the last week they have had some trouble feeding, we are only a few left by now."

"Were are you hiding?" Buffy asked and got up on her feet again, ready for action.

"In the sewer beneath my place. They haven't figured out where that is yet." he smiled proudly, glad his watcher training had been helpful in saving at least a few people.

"Well then lets get going Giles, I'd rather talk there than out here in the open.".

Giles, taking point, quickly ran along the overgrown hedges towards his hideout. A she followed him Buffy could not shake the thought that if she had just appeared, and Angel had disappeared together with her, then he must be out here somewhere right now. Maybe Willow's spell had actually worked and he had his soul back. Or maybe he was still stuck in that crazy dreamworld like she had been.

* * *

><p>Angelus arrived at the old factory, and just as he had suspected it was guarded by a hoard of vampires. Spike's men no doubt, and there where quite a lot of overly hairy and long-clawed men as well. They must be werewolves, only half transformed by the strange sun and probably more savage than any full moon could make them.<p>

As he sauntered up to them they all looked at him with utter amazement, every one of them thinking the legend had finally died. He only gave them a cold smile as he walked past them, taking a newly lit cigaret from one of the open mouthed vampires and taking a deep drag before he opened the heavy doors with one easy push.

He walked inside and found Spike, Drusilla and a couple of vampires standing around a table full of maps. They all turned as he walked in and dropped their jaws as they realized who he was. Spike grinned as if he had known all along that he would come back, and Drusilla flung herself around his neck, laughing like a little girl and getting swirled around by Angelus.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed, giving him a kiss on the cheek as he let her down. Spike continued his stupid grin, as if Angelus was a brother that had come back from one of his stupid adventures.

"Mate!" he laughed, "We thought you were dust for sure.".

"You can't kill me that easy Spike. I always come back.", he gave him a deadly grin that even wiped the smile off of Drusilla's face, but then he laughed merrily and punched Spike's arm jokingly. Making both Drusilla and Spike visibly loosen up again.

"Now what's been going on in my town?" he asked with a once more expressionless mask.

Spike and Drusilla filled him in on their current war with the pure blood demons in town, and how Spike had allied himself with the werewolves after they had found out about their state of constant mid-transformation. They had teeth and claws, and quite the sideburns in the case of the men, but they had most of their human intelligence left. Only problem for them was an uncontrollable blood lust, something Spike had found out could easily be satisfied with demon blood as well.

They also filled him in on their problem with the spell of the red sun only extending over a small area outside of Sunnydale.

"So you can't get out during the day then, but why don't you leave during the night?", he turned to Spike, the last person he would think would like to be stuck inside some mystical cage.

"We tried mate, we just can't go very far beyond the city limits, we get this massive headache and have to drag us back inside. If you don't make it back in time then you burst into flames." Spike explained, trying not to show his irritation. "We have seen lots of people trying to get in from the other side as well, but choppers and plains burst into flames as well, long before they get inside.".

Spike had liked being in charge of this big brawl with the pure bloods, but if Angelus managed to get back from the dead for the second time then what chance did he stand against him? He liked being second in command as well, Angelus always found the most entertaining ways to dispatch his adversary's, but now he would have to put up with taking orders again. On the other hand, this whole figuring-out-plans deal was not something for him, he preferred to just throw himself into the fray with his fists flying and fangs at the ready.

"We need that witch again," Angelus concluded darkly, a plan already forming. "She made this happen in the first place, she can extend it."

"Extend?" Drusilla watched him for a second, and then she smiled. "You want the bloodied sun to be everywhere, don't you daddy?"

Angelus caressed her cheek as he gave her a warm smile.

"No one knows me like you do Dru." he whispered sensually, while Spike muttered something about finding his own girlfriend.

"On that note Spike," he turned on his grandchild making the latter back off a little. "Where is my girl? Have you been taking good care of her?".

Spike exchanged a nervous look with Drusilla, making Angelus look furiously from one to the other.

"What have you done to her, my children?" he whispered, every syllable dripping with murderous intent.

"Nothing mate," Spike quickly answered, taking another few steps back. "She vanished in that bang of light just as you did.

"Really?", that meant that she was either still gone, or had appeared back here in Sunnydale just as he had. If the latter was true then they where soon to know, if he knew the slayer right she would be out and fighting within minutes.

"I will take care of her when the time comes, tell the pawns that she is off limits." he turned back to the maps on the table and studied them intently. "Now for this Shaitan, I think I know what we need to do."

* * *

><p>"Well this is..." Buffy searched for a good word. "Cozy?"<p>

Giles smiled sadly, knowing their hideout was not much for the world. In fact it was more like a bunker than a place to live, with walls covered in fungus and bedrolls covering most of the cold stone floor. Riley was sitting in a corner with two of Buffy's former classmates from High school, cleaning out their guns. When they saw Buffy enter, the entire room stood up and gaped at her, Riley running across the room and giving her a big hug.

"Buffy!" he laughed happily, squeezing the air out of her lungs and making her slowly turn purple. "We thought you had died."

"Takes more than that to keep this slayer dead." Willow said as she appeared behind Buffy, hugging her and smiling towards Giles. Buffy noticed that Willow looked rather sick, her face was grey and shiny and she was covered in heavy blankets.

"Are you OK Willow?", Buffy asked concerned as she looked her friend up and down.

"Yeah, it's just that the spell I did made me kinda weak." She gave Buffy a reassuring smile, as they sat down next to a stunned looking Dawn. "Haven't been able to do any magic since then, but that's probably for the best. The last time didn't go to well.". She gave Buffy a nervous smile who smiled back, Buffy not knowing that Willow had thought that her spell had killed her and Angel in one go.

Giles, Riley, Dawn and Willow explained how they, and by they they meant Riley and his assortment of helpers, had tried to deplete the demon numbers by constant skirmishes. They had done quite a good job from what Buffy heard, with Spike occupied with Shaitan's demon horde he couldn't afford to search for them. So they had attacked small groups of vampires and other demons, and then disappeared into the sewers before the demons had time to gather themselves for a counterattack. Giles led the scouting parties in search of food and any magic artifact that might help them, and that was how he had found Buffy by the pool.

"But if I'm back," Buffy stated, looking round at them all and voicing her fear and secret hope. "Then Angel is probably back as well. And he won't be satisfied with this slugging match that Spike has going on, he's going to either ally or crush this Shaitan. And then he's definitely going to figure out a way to get out of Sunnydale."

They all nodded at her words, they all knew that what had happened to Sunnydale couldn't be allowed to happen anywhere else.

"So what do we do?" Dawn asked, looking from Buffy's stern expression, to the stone mask of Giles and Riley. They leaned in and whispered a while until Buffy finally nodded, stood up and walked away from them by herself.

"What's going on, what did that nod mean?" Dawn asked confused.

She looked at Giles who watched his slayer walk away, and he turned back to Dawn.

"We need to kill Angel." he said to her, knowing what that meant to his brave slayer.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope it was worth the wait:D Not my best work, but I just needed this chapter to get the main story going again. Destroying Sunnydale kinda makes you have to start from scratch again. <strong>

**I have another big test next week, so I'm going to have to study a lot. So I don't know if I will post another chapter on Sunday or in two weeks. All I can say is that it's going to blow your mind;)**


	7. Chapter 7 Disciples of hell

**Disciples of hell**

**So here is the next big chapter. I really like the beginning and the end, the middle was so hard to write for me that I actually thought about waiting for a month or two to finish it. I was totally out of inspiration and I just couldn't face the massive research that would have ended with me breaking one of my big rules; never to watch Buffy season 4-7. Whenever I reference it I search the Buffy wiki.**

**But I persevered, and so I'm glad to present you with the seventh chapter of "Passion". **

**Enjoy:)**

* * *

><p>Mha was staring at his lord nervously, he didn't have any good news and that always pissed his lord off. He made his way through the cluster of demons surrounding the leader of the pure blood demons of Sunnydale, trying his best not to step on any claws.<p>

Mha was rather clever for being a pure blood, most of them only had one simple purpose and knew nothing outside of that. They appeared from demon dimensions to "Destroy the world" even though everyone knew that the humans were doing a much better job at it then any demon ever had. He knew the vampires had them at the advantage because they had the same malice as humans and a lot of strength to put behind it. The pure bloods were a lot stronger in most cases but simply lacked the innovative thinking that the humans had in abundance, and no one had more malice and twisted intelligence than Angelus.

And now he had to tell his lord that the scourge of Europe had come back to replace the rather single minded vampire called Spike. Everyone knew that there had never been a more destructive combination than the whirlwind, and three out of four were now ready to once more wreak havoc.

He came to a stop in front of his lord and went down on one knee, staring at the floor as he addressed him.

"My lord, I have grave tidings from our scouts.", he waited for his lord to turn around before he dared to look up.

Shaitan looked like the most beautiful of men combined in a single perfect body. His hair was spun gold and reached his waist, his bare chest showed the muscles of a Greek statue, his eyes were the pale blue of a summer sky and he stood tall and straight like a god of old. He didn't wear anything above his waist as he had a pair of massive wings sprouting from his back. The wings were the one thing that showed his true nature, as they looked more like the wings of a bat than an angels wings as might be expected. They were massive black things, leathery and ragged, like torn sails after a storm.

All this gave his beautiful visage the air of illusion it really was, as there had never been a more cruel and intelligent pure blood in the history of this world. He could hide his wings if wanted to, but he liked to remind them all of what he truly was, a being far more exalted than they could ever aspire to be. He was no mere demon, he was one of the angeli; the guardians of the passages between. They made sure that the different realms of demons and men never swallowed one another, but stayed separate, creatures from one realm could invade others but the realms were kept separate. The doorways between the worlds were guarded by these mystical creatures, and so they were always present in the background of the great cataclysmic events.

No one knew why he was here, maybe to keep some kind of mystical balance, or stop something from happening. All anyone knew was that he had appeared in town exactly when the slayer and Angelus had gone missing.

"Rise Mha. What news do you bring?" he spoke with a voice that sounded as if it came from very far away, almost like the echo on a mountainside.

"The vampire known as Angelus is back, he leads the half breeds in combat right now. They are closing in on us."

Shaitan nodded slowly, as always never betraying any emotion.

"Tell my lieutenants to assemble the men, we meet him in the open.".

Mha nodded as he turned to deliver Shaitan's orders, but he could swear that he heard his lord's voice muttering to himself before he disappeared into the throng;

"So the turning of time is upon us. The end is nigh."

* * *

><p>"Get your men in line Spike!" Angelus hissed as they emerged from the streets, sewers and houses surrounding what was left of the old High school.<p>

Spike and Drusilla had gathered a huge host from those who had followed the three at the Bronze, and with the falling numbers of humans the vampires and werewolves had risen in numbers considerably. The last week he and Spike had spent twenty hours a day in training, turning them from simple brawlers into effective killing machines. They had not been allowed to feed for the last four days, and that had made the werewolves in particular hungry for demon flesh. Demon blood was not as good as human for vampires, but at least it would be there in abundance.

In front of them, standing on the mountain of rubble that was all that remained of the old school, was the demon host. In the center, surrounded by his most fearsome brethren, stood Shaitan. If Angelus had gotten his nickname by having an angelic face, then he was clearly outmatched by the perfect visage that Shaitan presented, and to his own annoyance he found that it made him slightly jealous. Well, he wouldn't be as pretty when he got his face smashed in, Angelus thought, and he found himself wondering if he could force the demon to eat his own wings.

"Ready?", he roared to his left, and then to his right. Spike was in charge of the vanguard, they would lead the assault. Angelus would rush in with the second and main wave, and Drusilla would be in charge of the tactical reserve, filling in wherever they lost momentum. And as a having watched hundreds of pitched battles, Angelus knew that whomever kept his reserve for the right moment, could sway the outcome and would win the battle.

"Let's cut the bastards to messes!", Spike shouted as he ran towards the hill.

A deafening roar and a chorus of howlings answered his shouts, and the first wave started their assault. Spike looked like a maniac as he launched himself into a group of demons, wielding two axes with deadly efficiency, and carving a path through the throng. Angelus waited until Spike's men lost the momentum of their charge before he roared his own order of attack and ran towards the hill.

* * *

><p>From behind the school gym Buffy, Giles and Riley watched as the second mass of vampires and werewolves attacked the mountain of rubble where the pure bloods had dug in. It seemed evident that Angelus was winning, his men tore through the pure blood demon host like a knife through butter. Spike and Angelus where both laughing drunkenly with the euphoria of battle as they fought side by side for a while.<p>

"When they are near the end, or when Angelus or Shaitan have killed one another, that's when we strike." Giles muttered, not too concerned to keep his voice low as the noise of battle drowned most sounds. "Everyone ready?".

Riley and Buffy both nodded. They knew that this was a suicide mission, but they needed to kill Angelus, and Spike if they got the chance. Those two would be the only ones clever enough to figure out a way to get out of Sunnydale, and the only ones capable of keeping this horde together. Buffy and Riley where going to free up a path for Giles, who would finish a hopefully weakened Angelus or Spike with his crossbows. They where hoping that the pure bloods would finish of at least one of those two, but as things were going it didn't seem likely.

As they looked on, the battle was finally grinding to a halt, the fight uphill was taking its toll on the half breeds. Shaitan was finally on the move as well, and he seemed to have Spike in his sight. As Buffy and the others looked on they could see how Shaitan expertly drove Spike backwards, using a massive two-handed sword against Spike's dual axes. Giles himself let out an astounded gasp as Shaitan proved himself to be an expert swordsman even with his heavy weapon, cutting down any vampire or werewolf in his vicinity while simultaneously driving Spike closer and closer to a wall.

Spike was saved by an enormous werewolf, who picked Shaitan up and threw him over half a dozen yards, giving the seriously injured Spike time to pick his way through the fighting. The werewolf was skewered only a moment later by the clawed hand of a strange, winged, ghoul like demon.

"One down." Riley muttered in Buffy's ear. "We take care of him later, look who's found the winged guy.".

And as they slowly picked their way closer to the fight, Angelus was engaging Shaitan in a masterful example in swordsmanship. While Shaitan had the greater strength, Angelus seemed to be a bit faster, using the winged demons own strength against him as he continued to tire him out by constantly avoiding his mighty swipes. Buffy and Riley were now sneaking their way into the midst of the two fighting forces, staking anything that got in their way quickly and efficiently.

Only a short way ahead of them Angelus had finally brought Shaitan to his knees, and was ready for the final strike. He was bleeding heavily from several deep wounds, and looked ready to keel over. As he lifted his great sword and placed it on Shaitan's shoulder, he stopped for a moment and seemed to listen to something the demon whispered to him. Buffy couldn't make out what it was they said to each other, as she twisted the neck of a blue, scaly demon. But she and Riley had finally opened up a path to him as Giles was running forward with his two crossbows.

Angelus struck the head of the demon in one swipe and turned towards Giles, keeping his eyes on the ground, blood smeared across his face and turning his white tank top a grotesque brown-red color. He smiled as Giles stopped a few yards in front of him and took aim, he lifted his eyes to him and shouted through the thunderous noise of battle.

"Are you really here to kill me Giles? You know it won't work, I'll just come back again." he lifted his blood-smeared sword and pointed towards Giles with it. "I had something no vampire has had before: A slayer.".

"This is the end of you Angelus!" Giles shouted back, his hands trembling as he looked upon the man who had destroyed so much he had loved. Miss Calendar, Xander, Anya, Cordelia. All of them were dead because of this monster standing in his blood soaked clothes, and wearing that insolent grin. "And I will make sure you never return again. No one will help you now!".

"Are you sure of that?" Angelus retorted as he lowered his sword as his grin grew even wider.

And to his amazement Giles felt a blinding pain shooting through his body, and as he looked down he saw the tip of a curved dagger protruding from his chest. He felt his lungs fill up with blood, and how his heart stopped its beating rhythm as he slowly fell to one knee. He looked to his right and saw Riley lying there with his throat cut, and he felt how the dagger was ripped back out of him. As he rolled over on his back, he saw a shadow standing above him with something shiny in its hand. The shadow leaned down, and the last thing he heard was how Buffy whispered to him;

"I loved him more than I loved anything in this life."

And he slowly drifted off into darkness.

* * *

><p>Buffy stood up and gave Angel a big smile.<p>

"Hi honey." she said, trying to look serious. "You're in great danger, I'll see you next month.".

Angelus laughed as she jokingly turned and strutted away a few steps. He tried to follow her, but the pain from his wounds made him wince in pain as he took a step toward her.

"A little bruised up?" Buffy joked as she walked up to him and laid a hand on his bloodied chest. "Why don't we take care of that pain somewhere else?".

"We need to end this first Buffy.", he watched her green eyes and saw the same thing he saw in his minions every day; a cold emptiness. The witch had given him his memories again, could she have taken something from her by accident as well? Was it her soul? Or was it simply that she had gotten back some dark and/or painful memories, some of which he himself had taken from her, and they had made her change in some way?

"Let them fight it out by themselves, I need you now!" and she didn't wait for him to answer as she started to lead him down the hill, cutting down any vampire or demon who got in their way with Faith's old dagger.

As they walked down, the fighters around them finally realized that their leaders where gone, and stopped. They followed Angelus and Buffy with their eyes as they made their way through the crowd, and a howl of victory rose to the sky. The cheering grew until it drowned out the screams of the dying, and it made Angelus and Buffy smile as they headed towards his home. On their way they passed a grinning Spike, who only looked mildly surprised by seeing Buffy leading Angel along.

"Well I suppose on a day where everything else was pure bone, at least this makes the kind of no sense we all know and love by now." he joked to Drusilla, who was busy putting a heavy bandage on a gash in his right thigh.

As they reached his place, Buffy took his sword and put it on his desk. She then ripped off his clothes so quickly that he barely had time to register his own nakedness before she showed him onto the bed. Landing heavily on top of him, she smiled and gave him a deep kiss before she leaned towards his ear and whispered.

"You are mine now Angel. Say it.". She began to take of her shirt, while he stared at her with bulging eyes.

"I'm yours." he whispered.

"I want to see how much pain you kan take lover." She whispered as she dug her nails into one of his wounds.

"More than you think." he answered as he turned into his demon face and bared his teeth. The following hours where a blur of twisting bodies and flashing teeth and daggers, leaving spatters of blood on the bed and the wall.

* * *

><p>Angelus staggered outside into the glowing red light, lighting a cigaret and taking a deep drag, trying to shake the feeling that something was definitely wrong. He liked this new Buffy, with all her sex crazed hunger, the way she had licked his own blood of his chest had sent shivers of pleasure down his body, and she had even tasted her own blood. But somehow he couldn't get rid of the idea that that wasn't the real Buffy in there, and he had lusted after the real Buffy, and not some strange copy.<p>

Sure, he had tried his best to break her spirit, but that was how the game worked. A game was only fun as long as it was a challenge, as soon as you had what you wanted then the game was over. And he loved this game, he didn't want to end it now. The best thing with Buffy had been that it had been impossible to break her spirit, and knowing that magic was somehow responsible made him feel like a cheater.

"How's it going mate?".

He could recognize that voice anywhere in the world.

"What do you want Spike?" he muttered, taking another deep drag, trying not to be surprised by how good the other vampire had become at creeping up on him unnoticed. He must have learned it in his brief absence, or he had simply finally understood the fine art of stealth.

"I noticed how my grandsire, who just got what he has been obsessing about for nearly six years, seems more brooding than ever when he had a soul." Spike came to a halt in front of him and gave him one of his cheeky smiles. "Suddenly noticed just how special this slayer's soul really was? Taking it away somehow just turned her into Darla, and that's not the same is it? The fire is still there, but now it's not something that gives you any warmth anymore, it just burns your skin."

Spike let his eyes glide over the shallow cuts cowering Angelus body, knowing instantly what they meant.

"Why do you poets always have to be so good at seeing other peoples problems?" Angelus asked as he threw the cigaret into as sewage drain. "How did that poem of yours go again? The one with the crow and the soul, I always liked it.".

Spike watched him for a sign that he might be joking, but after a while he nodded, cleared his throat and recited the poem he had written to his once great love;

"_My soul is wrapped in harsh repose  
>Midnight descends in raven-colored clothes<br>But soft... behold! A sunlight beam  
>Cutting a swath of glimmering gleam<br>My heart expands, 'tis grown a bulge in it  
>Inspired by your beauty... effulgent<em>".

Angel just stood there, silently wishing he could put his own feelings into words just as good as Spike always had. Even in his darkest moments, Spike had shown more of his old self than any other vampire Angelus knew. Angelus had played with poor William's head until he really became Spike, but secretly he had held on to so much of his humanity that it continued to baffle Angelus.

"You still love her don't you? Drusilla's mind thing wore off or something?" he asked the blond vampire as he gave him one of his own cigarets.

"I never stopped, I just had it stored away somewhere, kept it in the back of my mind. I tried to be the demon that Drusilla loved, but I was actually glad when you took over. In your shadow I could get away with things that I never could when I was the leader." he looked up at the moon, remembering all the things he had done together with the slayer. "No girl ever compared to her, she was just something special. She was a sun that eclipsed us all, and she was the warmth that helped one through the long cold nights. Even when I hated her was I so fascinated that I just couldn't stay away. Bugger it, we aren't going to hug and cry are we?"

"Only if we have anything to drink." Angelus chuckled.

"What was that poem you wrote," Spike asked. "You know, the last time you ran around Sunnyhell in your soulless fashion. Something about passion, thought it was quite nice.".

Angelus thought back to those days, the best days of his life. He had haunted the slayer day and night, killing friends and family, bringing her ever closer to the edge. Or so he thought, as it turned out she didn't have an edge to fall over, just an iron will to do the right thing. He remembered his jealousy when he had seen her dance with Xander, and how he had sat down and written a poem in the vain attempt at getting his obsession out of his mind.

"Passion..." he began, but broke off. He watched Spike intently, feeling this was just one of his strange ways of getting people to admit what they really felt. Spike just lifted his eyebrows in a questioning way, and finally Angelus shared the poem he hadn't even dared to show to Buffy.

"_Passion... It lies in all of us. _

_Sleeping, waiting, and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir. _

_Open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us, guides us._

_Passion rules us all, and we obey._

_What other choice do we have?_

_It hurts sometimes more than we can bear._

_If we can live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace._

_But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank._

_Without passion we would be truly dead."_

After he finished, Angelus caught sight of Spike wiping something from his face.

"What are you doing?" Angelus asked, watching the other vampire suspiciously.

"What? Me? I just got some dirt in my eye." he quickly put his hands down and stared up at the red sky again. "I feel like getting hammered mate."

"Me too." Angelus muttered darkly, and they set off at a brisk pace towards Willy's. Both of them trying their best to avoid each others eyes.

* * *

><p>"You know why she loved you?" Spike asked Angelus, trying not to slur too much as he downed his tenth beer. "Because of your soul, mate. Not just that you had one, but how yours was so filled with compassion towards others. You helped everyone, regardless of their past actions, and that spoke to her in ways she couldn't tell you herself."<p>

Angelus muttered something incomprehensible as he stared watery eyed at his grandchild.

"She never said anything to the others when you left, but I know she never forgot you. That soldier boy never stood a lasting chance, and neither did I. We both knew that we were only the next best thing, her heart was always somewhere else.".

"But why didn't she just drop kick me and drag me back to Sunnydale? She never really tried to stop me from leaving." Angelus asked with a tormented look. "If she could just let me go off like that then she must have known from the beginning that we weren't meant to be."

"Not meant to be?" Spike slurred angrily, spilling beer on a dwarf sized demon sitting behind him. "You came back from hell, and even for a hide-his-feelings-Nancy-boy like you it's quite feat."

"I didn't get back from hell on my own accord." Angelus said, suddenly feeling his mind clear up. It was rather hard to stay drunk as a vampire. "She sent me a ring without knowing it herself, it pulled me back here before I knew what had happened.".

"Even hell can't keep you two lovebirds apart mate. And you know that she doesn't deserve this, this slaughter and pain. You managed to steal her soul, and you lost your own in the process. She deserves the real you mate, we both know it." Spike had felt himself sobering up as well, and he wasn't liking it one bit. He had eased his grandsire closer to this point the entire evening, or morning for all he knew.

"What do you want me to do Spike? I can put my own soul back in easily enough, but I have no idea how to get her's back."

"Can't you just go back in time and set things right?" Spike started to get an idea, an this time it might actually work out. "Like if that witch sends you back, you kill yourself just when you lost your soul and then she will never know what a big monster you really are.".

"I think she needs those memories, they are what made her so strong." Angelus answered, beginning to mole his own brain for ideas. "What if just didn't let her go back to Sunnydale after I killed the Mohra demon? Or I could kill the demon, become human, and follow her back to Sunnydale?".

"And do what?" Spike asked, as always seeing the flaw in the logic. "Pick up where you left off? She wouldn't accept that, she already started to date soldier boy at the time, things would get to awkward for all of us. Plus I would be trying to kill you the moment I saw you, and that would lead to one of us getting dusted and I would love to avoid it being me.".

"What if we both went back?", Spike and Angelus grinned like children at the thought.

"Those were pretty fun days." Spike consented.

Angelus nodded and rose from his chair.

"Let's find that witch and do this before we're all sober again.". Angelus grabbed a bottle of whiskey and set off towards the door, finally getting through it on the third try, Spike holding on to his coat like an elephant's baby.

* * *

><p>"Let me get this straight." Willow said, trying not to burn the two very drunk vampires to dust with here stare. "You want to set this mess straight, the mess you put us in, by going back in time to stop Buffy from leaving you?"<p>

"That's bout it love." Spike nodded, leaning heavily on a passed out Angelus whom he had propped up against a wall in the cellar hideout.

"Oh, so I'm just supposed to forget how you killed everyone I loved, including making me take Buffy's soul."

"That would be much appreciated." Spike agreed, slowly gliding towards the floor. "You'd better hurry up before we sober up Red, unless you want us to kill everyone down here. Angelus has the most terrible hangovers you've ever seen."

"Fine!" Willow finally agreed exasperated. She really hated the two vampires after all they'd done, but for once they seemed to have found a way to set things right again. "What do we do about Angel's soul?"

"He said it's probably going to find its way back the moment he jumps through time. It's stored in some jar, and he doesn't know himself where it is.". Spike dragged Angelus down beside himself and smacked him awake with a few brutal backhands. "And in any case it won't matter. We set things straight, and then the rest solves itself."

"Give me an hour and we should be all set to do this then.".

Willow watched Spike intently, they both seemed so incredibly different from what she had seen in the last weeks. They genuinely wanted the best for Buffy, no matter the cost. The only problem was, and that was something Angel had realized early on, doing what was right for Buffy didn't always go hand in hand with the greater good. But somehow she didn't think the greater good meant anything to either Spike or Angelus. Well, as long as their obsession with Buffy meant that they would be fighting on the right team, then the greater good just had to take a step back in their case.

* * *

><p>"Wait a moment." Angelus stepped in front of Willow, whom was just about to finish her circle of magic. "I have decided against it.".<p>

_Who didn't see this coming?_ Willow asked herself. You should never really expect anything from Angelus.

"We don't go back that far in time, just to the battle at the Bronze.". Willow and Spike watched him silently, not daring to interrupt this sudden and unfamiliar clarity. "Spike and I kill the Beast, then we drive off the demon army. After that we leave, we won't bother Buffy ever again."

Spike's jaw seemed to bounce off the floor as he gaped at Angelus. Had he suddenly really found a shred of his old soul again? This couldn't really be Angelus could it?

"She deserves something better than us monsters. We leave her to her own life, and we won't ever return to Sunnydale again." he gave Spike a long stare, and after a few moments Spike nodded in agreement. Her fate wasn't theirs to play with, she was her own, and she didn't deserve the darkness that was all they could offer her.

"Peaches has a point. Take us back to the battle, we will win it for you. And then you won't hear from us ever again.". The vampires both nodded in silent agreement before they turned to Willow who tried to make sense of any of this.

"OK. But remember that you might not get your soul back. Buffy will know it if she meets you, and she might kill you both."

"We know the risk Willow." Angelus spoke with his authoritarian voice again. "Just do it."

"OK.", Willow opened her book and gave them both a final approving nod. "Here we go then."

"Think we get enough god cred for this to get us into heaven?" Spike asked Angelus as Willows eyes turned black and her spell began to engulf them both in light. "Or at least a less flamy hell?"

"Shut up Spike, you always talk to much.", Angelus answered as the light seemed to drag him into a strange spiral.

"Just because you already know the exit, you bloody ponce." Spike muttered as he felt himself being ripped out of the cellar and into the blinding light.

* * *

><p>"Just shove the damn dagger into his heart Spike!" Angelus shouted as he raced along the streets, rounding a corner and seeing the mass of demons swarming across the Bronze.<p>

"It's rather hard when you can't keep the bloody van from throwing me around like a cement truck." Spike shouted back as he stabbed the Beast in the eye with the dagger, instead of the chest where he had aimed. "Sorry mate, but the bastard who's driving must have bought his license at the supermarket." he added to the beast, before he finally hit it in the heart.

"Finally!" Angelus shouted to the back, as Spike climbed on to the front seat. "Here comes the sun!".

And sure enough the sun burst through the darkness, making the demon horde scrambling over the bronze look like the worlds biggest bonfire. Screams of agony and the cascades of ashes filled the air all around them as they drove along the side of the building. The pure demons didn't burst into flames, but they fled the unwelcome sun nonetheless. And the combination of a big van driving over them, and having the people inside swarming out, made short work of those who weren't fast enough.

"Brilliant!" Spike shouted beside Angelus, lighting a victory cigaret for himself and one for Angelus as they came to a halt at the crossing. "Only one problem, we can't get out to receive the undying gratitude of the people.".

"We don't go outside Spike." Angelus said as he accepted the cigaret from Spike. "We leave before they know we are here."

"Yeah, we'll probably only muck up the victory celebration anyway, what with us doing most of the work."

"And being the cause of all this in the first place." Angelus added.

"Don't bring me into the guilt trip. I was doing fine until you had to loose your sole again and come back for the girl.".

"Sorry for interrupting your charm offensive on the love of my life, Spike." Angelus apologized sarcastically.

"Apology accepted." Spike answered with a bright smile.

Angelus started the engine again, and as they drove off they both looked one more time into the rear view mirror. All they could see was a flash of golden hair as someone stepped out of the Bronze, and then they looked back towards the road in front again.

Neither said anything for a while, when they passed the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign, Spike took out a bottle of whiskey which he and Angelus drank from in turns and in complete silence. Finally Angelus spoke up.

"So..." he started, his voice feeling a little awkward after the long silence. "I'm thinking Vienna.".

"Spot on mate." Spike agreed, and they both chuckled a little as they headed down the highway.

* * *

><p>"Who was that in the van?" Buffy asked a beaming Giles as she turned back towards the sheering people.<p>

"No idea. Maybe someone who'd seen the fight?", he shrugged as he helped a limping Riley over to the nearest bench to sit down. "Or maybe a guardian angel."

"Would that be with a big "a", or a small one?" Willow asked jokingly, but quickly putting on her serious mask as she saw Buffy's questioning glance.

"Maybe it was.". Buffy agreed as she sat down next to Riley. "I mean, neither Angel or Spike were here, even though I could have sworn I saw Spike drop down from that hole in the roof earlier. Must have been a trick of light, or someone imitating his style.".

Some of them had seen that as well, and Riley swore that he had seen how Angelus had leaped up on the wall, only to blur for a second and vanish. Maybe it was some cosmic magic that finally kicked in to save them? Or maybe they had just got to fed up with the hole war and decided to scram.

"It's nice to have the sun back anyway.". Riley leaned his head back, and smiled as the warm glow spread across his tired and cold body. "One more day of midnight and I would have punched someone in the face. Preferably a vampire.".

"Yep, just another day in Sunnydale I guess." Willow added as she got up and started to look around for Tara.

"I wonder what tomorrow has in mind then." Buffy said as she got to her feet, and gave Giles a big grin.

"I'd rather not know just yet.", he responded as he started to clean his glasses. "You know this could have ended badly for all of us?". He gave her a stern look, but it did nothing to dampen her good mood.

"Oh come on Giles, we always make it through in the end.".

And across the street, standing in the shadow of a building, Shaitan nodded solemnly.

"Thanks to the two vampires you always did. Let's see how well you fare without them."

* * *

><p><strong>Whoho, finally finished with this mess. In case you wonder, I did the whole time thing because I found it so hard to write anything with Buffy soulless. It was so boring that I immediately tried to figure out how I could get her back the way she was, but still keep Angelus and Spike the way I like them. So I sort of combined "The Girl in question." episode where Angelus and Spike try to save Buffy together, with the "I will remember." episode as they are two of my favorites. <strong>

**Next chapter will have Angelus and Spike doing their thing, and Buffy and Shaitan doing theirs. But not to worry, they will be reunited soon. But on which continent I have yet to decide. **


	8. Chapter 8 Slaughter

**(S)laughter is the best medicine**

**So here we are. I know it's been ages since I last updated, but I had a lot to do, and I just had to take a short brake from all things Buffy related. But I hope you're going to like this chapter, and now we only have two more to go. **

**At first I wanted to end the story with this chapter, but then I realized that I had so much more fun stuff I wanted Buffy and Angelus to do, so we will continue on to chapter 10. **

**Anyway, here's chapter 8, from Passion. **

**Enjoy;)**

* * *

><p>"Angel!". Spike shouted as he ran through the casino. "Angel! Where the bloody hell are ya?".<p>

He rounded the slot-machines, closely followed by a dozen guards screaming something Spike could only tell meant he was in for a rough beating. He hadn't meant to sleep with the owner of the casino's wife, and that the man had walked in on them mid hump had been quite hard for him to explain. So now he was trying to reach Angelus at the poker table before the big Check guards caught up with him.

"I always thought Prague was all about the party.", He hissed angrily as he tossed a woman behind him to slow down his pursuers.

Finally he spotted Angelus, as always surrounded by short blond girls, at one of the tables closest to the exit. Spike remembered his grandsire's constant words of caution; "Know your exits.".

"Angel!" he shouted as he closed in on the table, and Angelus immediately looked up to see who it was. "Get your stuff, we've got company."

Angelus grabbed his chips, jumped up from his chair and caught up with Spike within seconds.

"Why do you have to sleep with the owner's wife if you know he's a god damned demon mobster?", Angelus asked as they burst through the front doors, and took off towards the nearest alley. "Aren't there plenty of other creatures of the night who get turned on by your British accent?".

"And what about you, Nancy boy,", Spike retorted as he they found their Hotel and tried to not look guilty as they marched through the lobby, Angelus carrying dozens of chips and Spike trying to pull his jacket across his chest to hide the purple dress he was wearing. "It's been three months since we left Sunnyhell, and every time I find you you're with one or more short blond girls."

"So What? I know my preferences.", Angelus defended himself as he searched his pockets for the room key.

"What a load of bollocks, you're simply dealing with her not being around in the worst possible way.".

"Says the man dressed in a... Dress...", Angelus snorted as he glanced at Spike's bared legs.

"I still look pretty. Anyway I'm moving on, you're still obsessed.". He smiled as he found that he at least hadn't left his cigarets at the casino. "All these blond girls are preventing you from finally getting over the fact that we both have left the Slayer to he own devices. Are you seriously considering hanging around with blondes till you finally hear about the Slayers death?".

"She won't die any time soon.", Angelus muttered as he finally found the key and opened the door.

"Even better, so you're going to hang round till she gets old and you realize that love doesn't last past forty?". Spike smiled as he continued to torture his grandsire, he knew all too well how much it hurt for him to talk about Buffy. Somehow Spike had went from being the annoying compatriot, to being Angelus's shrink.

"And while we're on the subject of girls," Spike added as he looked around the room for a spot not covered in blood to sit down on. "Do you have to bring your food into the living room? I mean, you can just kill them in the loo, no need to get blood on the carpet.".

"You're one to talk, when you severed the last guy's head you spilled all over the tapestries.", Angelus and Spike gave each other a wicked smile.

They had left the Slayer, but that had meant coping with some serious issues and they both felt that slaughter was the best medicine. Spike had been hesitant at first, but without Buffy around to keep him in check, and with having Angelus edging him on, he quickly joined in in the feeding. Vienna had been a blast, they had left at least a hundred corpses behind, and Munich had showed it self from it's best and darkest side. But Prague was the highlight of their travel through central Europe, only difference was that when last Angelus had been there they had spoken German in the streets.

As Spike stood by the window and looked down on the sleeping city, something caught his eyes. He saw a woman sneaking out of an alley, closely followed by a man who obviously (and clumsily) tried to move stealthy.

"Eeh, Angelus? Would you please come and look at this?", Spike shouted towards the bathroom where Angelus had disappeared.

"If you're drunk enough to kiss me again, I will throw you into the Danube.", Angelus muttered as he came out of the bathroom wearing only his leather pants and carrying a towel on his shoulder.

"We agreed never to talk about that.". Spike muttered back, before he grabbed Angelus and pulled him to the window and pointed at the two very obvious spies beneath their window. "Tell me your not seeing what I'm seeing, cause what I'm seeing is not bloody possible.".

Angelus glanced down, and then he did a double take and stared with open mouth at the two people below.

"That's not possible.", he whispered as he looked back at Spike, who seemed to contemplate if the wife of the casino owner had drugged him. "Is that really?".

"Xander and Cordelia?", Spike asked, deciding that he should get himself checked for roofies at a later time. "Sure as hell looks like them doesn't it?".

* * *

><p>"Willow said they'd be here didn't she?" Xander asked as he tried to pull his coat higher up to cover his face.<p>

"Yes," Cordelia answered angrily, he hadn't been able to shut up since they had seen Angelus and Spike run from the casino half an hour ago. Willow had told them exactly where the vampires stayed, so all they had to do was wait for them to return to the hotel. "And can you try to be a little less suspicious?".

"What? It's not as if I stalk mass murderers every night, this is something new for me.", Xander tried to relax, but the thought of Angelus and Spike appearing behind him to kill him crept back into his mind.

"You're such a hero," Cordelia hissed, her voice dripping with scorn. "How could I ever have broken up with you?".

"How long are we supposed to stand here then? I have a feeling that someone's watching me.". Xander turned around, and let out a high pitched scream as Spike and Angelus were standing barely three feet behind him.

"You're not wrong boy.", Angelus spoke quietly as he advanced on Xander, tilting his head to the side as if he was looking for something suspicious. "Spike, would you please take care of these two?".

"Sure." Spike growled as he flung himself at Cordelia, fangs at the ready.

To his surprise he passed right through her, he turned round and letting his hand drift through her several times just to be sure. Angelus gave Xander and Cordelia a victorious grin as he strolled around them.

"The scent, that's whats missing. Should have picked up on it right away.". He rounded on Xander and gave him a dark stare, knowing that trying to threaten a non-corporeal person with harm would only be redundant. "Buffy sent you to spy on us?".

"More like Giles actually." Xander answered, taking a suddenly cocky stance as if his previous behavior wasn't necessary any more. "He's working with the watchers council to try and pinpoint your location.".

"Why the need to find us all of a sudden?" Spike asked, already lighting up a cigaret as he felt bored with nothing to attack.

"Because you two have lost control." Cordelia filled in, giving them both her classical reproachful look. "You barely made it out of the states before the bodies started piling up. How many have you killed here? Twenty?".

"More like fifteen, the other five were killed by some mob demons.", Angelus retorted, not too happy with the fact that they were probably hunted down right now by that very same mob demon.

"So the overall tally of your trip through Europe has cost more than two hundred people their lives. Very subtle.". Cordelia snorted and sat down on a bench with her legs crossed and a furious gleam in her eyes.

"And you were summoned by the council to track us down and help them take us out. Is that it?", Angelus sat down next to Cordelia and lit his own cigaret, furious that he had been tracked down by two extremely irritating ghosts.

"Not exactly,", Xander looked at Cordelia hesitantly before he continued. "They actually need your help."

"Bollocks!", Spike roared, stepping within an inch of Xander's face.

"What do you see Spike?", Angelus didn't even bother to look at his grandchilde, he knew Spike's powers of perception were almost equal to Drusilla's powers. The difference was that Spike was simply an expert in reading people, Drusilla was a psychotic vampire with magical powers.

"They are stalling, I bet this is some kind of magical projection designed to track us down and contact whoever sent them as soon as they've found us.", he spat out the words in between gritted teeth. Spike felt the fury of William the bloody taking over him again, and this time he didn't fight the feeling.

For the last three months, Angelus had dug into Spike's innermost feelings and what he found had scared even Spike. Angelus had taunted him, driven him closer to the edge each day, and finally found the old Spike. Spike was almost two people now, when he was calm and collect he preferred Spike, but when the fury took over he called it William. And Angelus had taken advantage of this, played his mind games to lure William out more and more often. He was the one who started to name Spike; William, whenever the fury overtook him. And after a while Spike simply accepted his old name.

Angelus knew he had to lure the old William out, if he had to drag him to hell and back just to prove his point. To him it was all to prove a point; a vampire doesn't change. He was going to twist Spike's head into the warped and petty psycho he had been all those years, a child with the strength of ten men. And in the end, all Angelus would have to do was unleash his friend in Sunnydale, and the old days with him, Spike and Drusilla would be back again.

This turn of events was however not something he had foreseen, he had expected the Slayer to hunt them down herself, and thus the flight from her would make the perfect opportunity to breed the old contempt of her race in Spike's mind again. He had been a hound, bred and trained by Drusilla to be nothing more than a savage killer, and he had even overshadowed Angelus as he lost his soul. But he had never really let go of his contempt of not being as feared as Angelus had been and still was, few knew _him_ by name but everyone knew "The scourge of Europe". Now new plans had to be made, the hound was almost ready to be let loose, but first things first.

"Exactly what I'm thinking too.", Yes, plans had to be made. "Let's go Spike, time to visit our dear old friend."

Spike looked up, puzzled at first, but then his face lit up with recognition.

"Drusilla." he whispered, a smile spreading on his lips.

"Yes. But first I need to find an item. The Shanshu said it would be very powerful and important.".

* * *

><p>"So did they buy it?" Buffy asked Willow nervously. "You've been sitting there for two hours Will.".<p>

Buffy, Giles and Dawn had been watching Willow do her tracking spell, and then the strange incantation that she said would send two disguised "Watchers". She had tried to explain what these watchers would do, but Buffy kept confusing them with the actual watchers Giles had called to help them out and who were now standing together with Giles in whispered conversation.

According to Willow and Giles, the beings that Willow summoned would be sent to the exact location that Willow wanted them in. Then they would find whomever they were supposed to find, and set a form of tracking spell on them. Willow could only pinpoint their exact location in the exact moment her tracking-spell ended, and if the target moved around a lot it would be impossible to track them with that spell. But with this "watcher"-spell she could simply take out a map and do a quick spell and she would be able to follow them all the time. At least that was what Buffy had understood from the nearly twenty minute lecture Giles had had on the "ancient and almost forgotten magic of the Watcher, summoned to find the lost souls of the earth.".

The funny thing was that this magic could only work on someone who wasn't where he felt at home, and as they seemed to have found Angelus it had to mean he wasn't actually at home over there. But it might just mean he didn't want to recognize anywhere as home, the way he and Spike had moved from city to city, leaving bodies everywhere, they seemed to be enjoying their trip. And even though the watchers and Giles had tried to convince her that they needed to be killed, she just couldn't handle it. She hadn't been able to kill Angel until he was on the verge of ending the world, she couldn't even kill him when he had murdered Miss Calendar.

As Spike once put it; "Love is a funny thing.". Even confronted with the horror her two ex-boyfriends had been up to, she couldn't even muster the contempt she knew everyone else was feeling.

"They bought it at first." Willow answered as her eyes returned to their natural color. "But Spike figured it out. They said they were going to Berlin, something about finally finding out about something in a scroll.".

"What scroll?" Giles interest was peaked. "What could those two possibly need from a scroll.".

"Angelus said something about Shako, or Shantoo." Willow looked at Giles confounded, she had never heard about it.

"It's the Shanshu.", an elderly watcher filled in. A man they had found out was actually Wesley's father. "It speaks about a vampire with a soul, who will through his deeds in the final battle be made human."

"Human?", Buffy stared at him with her eyes wide open. Was this why Angel had left her to fight in LA? He knew he had to prepare himself for some final fight?

"Which final fight?" Willow asked sarcastically, having lived through almost a dozen of those. "The one this year, or the gizillion we have already live through?".

"The true and final apocalypse. The word is actually translated as "the lifting of the veil" and is derived from the Greek word; apokálypsis. Something that in christian mythology will happen through God's judgment of the earth and humanity, but the Shanshu paints a more gruesome picture.". Wesley's father walked into the middle of the room, all eyes on him as he cleared his throat and continued. "At the end of times the four great champions of the earth will rage a war across the world. Two will fight for good, and two for evil. We do not know anything about these four, except that one of them will be a vampire with a soul. We don't know what role he/she will play, only that he/she will be rewarded with humanity for his help in winning the war for either good or evil".

"Wow.", was all Buffy managed, and she glanced at the completely stunned Giles. It had to be the first time someone had shown himself to be even more well-read than him, and she couldn't help but share a small grin with Willow.

"Quite.", Wesley's father agreed as he walked back to the other watchers.

"So Angelus and Spike are trying to become human?", Willow asked the watchers, trying to get her head around the fact that their end-of-the-world fights had only been a small pastime while waiting for the grand final act.

"At least Angelus is." Giles agreed, wiping his glasses a little to forcefully. "He might not have indulged Spike in the exact details of the prophecy.".

"So why then are they going to Berlin?", Buffy wondered as she followed the now pacing Giles with her gaze.

"Clearly something connected to the Shanshu must be there.", Wesley's father filled in. "Not everything happens in America you know.".

"Not everything happens in Sunnydale you mean." Buffy muttered a little irritated at his posh tone. "So we got to Berlin and stop him.".

"You can't just go to Germany and confront him Buffy.", Giles tried to reprimand his slayer. "We need to make up a plan first.".

"I've already got one," she interjected before he could continue. "I go there with Mr. Apocalypse-expert over there and Willow, and we ambush them and bring them back to Sunnydale.".

Giles looked at her with a concerned look, but then he finally nodded.

"Very well. Better start packing your things right now, we need to intercept them as soon as they arrive in Berlin.".

"Yay, Euro-trip." Buffy almost sang cheerfully as she gave Willow a huge grin.

Dawn, of course, tried to nag her into taking her with her to Germany, but Buffy knew Angelus too well to trust him not hurting Dawn the first chance he got. Finally Dawn agreed to stay behind, but only if Giles would take her on a trip to LA, so she could have a trip of her own. Giles agreed, and he and Dawn followed Buffy, Willow and Roger Wyndam-Price to the airport to wave them off.

"Sorry that I couldn't take you with me Dawn." Buffy began as she hugged her sister goodbye. "Maybe if we can capture and chain the boys up you can come over and we could take a tour of Berlin?".

"I would recommend that we move them back to a more secure place as soon as we find them, Miss Summers.", Wyndam-Price said in his calm voice, yet giving the girls a stern look. He was truly even more of a stiff than Giles was.

"Alright Mr. English.". She sighed and finally released Dawn, and walked into the airport together with Willow and Mr. Wyndam-Price, glancing back one more time to see how Dawn and Giles took off. "Well here we go, Next stop Germany.".

* * *

><p>"Christ Angel, who the hell are those guys?".<p>

Spike and Angelus were standing opposite of four green and armored and ninja-like demons, wielding what seemed to be extremely sharp swords.

"Mohra demons, and they seem to know us well.", Angelus answered as he took out his broadsword from their bag.

They had arrived in Berlin late at night and made their way to the Gendarmen Markt, where Angelus knew that the entrance to the black temple had to be. As they left Sunnydale they had made a stop at Angelus old headquarters and picked up the Shanshu scroll, and at every stop in Europe he had searched for someone who could help him translate. In Prague he had finally found one extremely old demon who had helped him decipher an interesting passage, but until the strange ghosts had tracked them down he hadn't payed any attention to it.

It spoke of a cup which was supposed to grant the drinker a powerful blessing, but only to a vampire. And now he was fairly sure that some extremely potent organization, and probably Buffy as well, was out to get him. So the time seemed right to find this cup, and find out exactly what it could do for him. Personally he was rooting for the power to walk in the light, but invulnerability might just do the trick as well. But as they found the entrance to the black temple where it was supposed to be held, they were greeted by these new friends.

"So, anything I need to know about them before we hack them to pieces?" Spike asked as he took out his two axes from the bag, casually inspecting their sharpness.

"Yes. Don't hack them to pieces, smash the red crystal in their forehead.", Angelus weighed his sword and then took an offensive stance, with the sword held in both hands and crouched like a tiger. "Oh, and don't get their blood in a wound, that wont be good for you at all.".

"Noted.".

And they launched themselves at the Mohra demons, who were taking completely by surprise by this sudden and fearless attack. The fight was short but brutal, and the Mohra were excellent warriors, so they managed to inflict several wounds on both Spike and Angelus. Angelus was a little jealous that Spike killed three of the four Mohra demons, and he was sure that he was to hear about it till the end of times.

"So peaches... How many demons did you kill?", Spike gave him a broad grin as they walked down a narrow passage, lit only by torches.

"Spike, I don't have time for this!" Angelus growled, still in his game-face as Buffy used to put it. "We need to find this cup thing as fast as possible, I'm sure we triggered some kind of alarm when we passed those Mohra demons.".

And sure enough they could already hear screams of fury behind them in the passage.

"Let's get on with it then." Spike agreed as they took off as fast as they could, passing endless corners and turns in the tunnel.

When they finally emerged from the tunnel, they stopped in awe at the sight before them. At their feet an enormous, marbled staircase extended down into an even more enormous marbled temple-like hall. Pillars as tall as skyscrapers extended up into the darkness, and the walls were cowered in massive carved faces of demons and men, everything made up of the same white marble. In the center of the hall was a small, wooden dais, and on it glinted something golden.

But they didn't make it further than halfway down the staircase before the tunnel behind them began spewing out vampires and demons. They ran down the rest of the stairs, so they wouldn't have to fight uphill, but have an even ground. There were at least a dozen vampires, perhaps six or seven demons as well, and they were all well armed.

"Ready Willy?" Angelus asked, feeling a little nervous as the host closed in on them.

"No way mate, this is a bloody cake walk.", Spike spat nervously on the ground and gave Angelus one last look before he turned back on the attackers. "If I die down here I'm going to kill you.".

"No pressure then.", Angelus laughed as he plunged his sword into a grey, scaly, demon that had reached them before the main group.

* * *

><p>"Willow!", Buffy shouted to her friend as she stabbed another vampire in the heart and watched him turn into dust. "You hold them off, I'm getting Spike and Angel out of there.".<p>

"Make it quick Buffy, I don't know how long I can hold their sorcerers back.". Willow shouted back, as she deflected another black bolt of lightning, flung by the group of caped men who had followed the dozens of vampires into the tunnels behind Buffy, Wyndam-Price and Willow.

Buffy ran as fast as she could, her mind in overdrive as she dodged attacks by stray demons, and impaled those who got to close to her. When she finally emerged from the tunnel she was as awed by the sheer size of the hall as Spike and Angelus had been. She could see dozens of piles of ash, and several bodies as well, strewn across the white marbled floor. And in the center of the room she could see Angelus and Spike, standing in front of something that seemed to glimmer in the torch-light.

She didn't make it down the stairs however, as she was surrounded by a group of vampires. They were only five, but they all wore armor and carried swords and axes.

"Lovely. Now you boy's wouldn't be helping Angel now would you? Because I'm a good friend of his.", she watched their cold gazes as they closed in around her. "No? Well it was worth a shot. Have you ever met Mr. Pointy?".

* * *

><p>"Mr. Price?", Willow tried to get close to the older man, who had shown himself to be an expert at aiming with a crossbow. "I think Buffy might need your help.".<p>

"Nonsense, she's a slayer, she should be able to handle two vampires.", he responded as he sent an arrow straight into the heart of one of the sorcerers.

"Handle maybe, but she doesn't have much judgment around them, especially Angel, he might make her do something she might regret.".

Fighting with magic, while trying to talk calmly to a very stubborn man was quickly making Willow very angry. She could be out seeing sights, and instead she was stuck in a tunnel, trying to make an old man understand the problems regarding ex-boyfriends.

"Hasn't she already done most of the things she might regret with those two?". He started to reload again, and Willow's patience snapped.

"Just help her, will you?". She shouted, and gave him a magic slap across his back to get him going.

"Alright, alright. I'm going Miss. Rosenberg.", and he took off down the tunnel as well, leaving Willow behind alone.

"Finally someone makes the logical decision around here.", she muttered as she sent a fistful of flames towards a vampire who tried to sneak up on her from behind.

* * *

><p>"So you think I'm just going to let you drink from it before you tell me what it's going to do to you?", Spike hissed to Angelus as they continued to circle each other. "I'm not daft you know.".<p>

"Really?", Angelus retorted, his anger rising. "You're really stupid enough to get in between me and my price?"

"I bet that that cup is going to make you into something even more twisted than what you are right now. But if you think I'm going to let you drink from it you're bloody wrong. This reward should be mine!", Spike aimed for Angelus's head, but missed with several inches and he had to roll across the floor to avoid Angelus's counter strike.

They were both seriously injured from the fight at the stairs, and so it was more a matter of who could remain upright than of their fighting skill. But they still fought with a strength and agility that would leave most humans baffled. Spike was fast and intuitive, Angelus methodical and calm, and so their fight became a test of their will as well.

"You were always envious of me Willy, always trying to be better or cleverer.", Angelus ducked under another wild swing, and slashed Spike across the thigh. "And see how you failed. Everyone fears Angelus, no one fears William the bloody.".

"They might fear you more," Spike retorted as he gave Angelus a deep gash on the left arm with a dagger he had taken from one of the fallen vampires. "But I _am_ more. You could never accept that only you could be so rotten and hollow, so you tried to drag me down to your level. Well the lions are on to you now, and I know now that I am _nothing_ like you.".

Angelus blocked another wild swing and stabbed his sword straight through Spike's chest, grinning as he forced the younger vampire down on his knees.

"I know that you are nothing like me.".

He pulled out the sword from the chest, and placed it on Spike's shoulder. He leaned down and whispered in his ear;

" There is no one like me, only me.".

And then he straightened himself up, stepped forward, and lifted the cup from its dais. He looked back, but Spike had passed out from the blood loss and seemed almost dead. He held the cup before himself, sniffing the black liquid it held, and then drank from it thirstily.

Within seconds of finishing the cup, he felt a strange sensation in his stomach. It spread through his entire body, and then it exploded. He could see how light shone from his body, and it felt as if his entire body was aflame. He dropped to his knees and screamed in agony as the fire in his body reached a climax. And then it suddenly stopped, and he felt alive in an entirely new way.

It took a few seconds before he finally realized what that feeling meant, he was really alive again. And he felt his soul as well, the pain of it and the love it had kept safe. Every action he had done in the last months came back with a terrible force, the killing of his son and friends, the slaughter of the youth of Sunnydale, the time slip with it's terrible battles, and finally the slaughtering across Europe. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to comprehend the cheer savagery he had unleashed upon the world.

He slowly got back on his feet, his many injuries draining him faster than if he had been a vampire. He hadn't anticipated this from the cup, to be given humanity was something he only thought the PTB were able to do. But then he remembered that he had become a human the last time by mixing his blood with that of a Mohra demon, maybe that was what had been in the cup.

As he made his way towards the stairs he caught sight of the fighting on the top, and he saw a flash of long blond hair. He immediately thought the worst and tried to speed up, but he could barely limp and was already exhausted. He strained himself to move even faster, and he felt how his legs slowly became numb from the blood loss, but he continued up the stairs. Halfway up he could barely crawl, and he knew that he had left a long and bloody trail behind himself on the white marble steps, but he could no longer see if there was any fighting at the top and that gave him the strength to continue.

Finally Angel reached the top, and he dragged himself on his feet to look around. There were bodies of demons everywhere, and piles of dust covered the bodies and made it hard to identify them. But then he saw a figure, hunched over a body that had blond hair, and he was filled by a rage he had never felt before. He lifted his sword over his shoulder and swept the head of the hunched figure clean off, making the head roll down the stairs before it finally combusted.

Below the vampire he saw Buffy's pale and lifeless body, covered in blood and with teeth-marks on her neck. Angel fell to his knees, picked her up in his arms as the tears began streaming down his face. He cradled her in his arms, talking softly to her as he wiped the blood from her face and stroked her hair.

"Buffy, please don't die. You can't leave me here, not after all of this. After everything.". He felt his own body slowly go limp, and then he finally could remain upright. So laid himself down beside Buffy, and faded away into the darkness.

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><p><strong>Liked it? Personally I didn't think it was my strongest work, but I had to get the story moving onto the final two chapters. We needed to get a few things right, and so I had to breeze by some stuff. Next chapter will have some seriously crazy stuff going down, and I hope you will stay with me until the final chapter. <strong>

**Please review and let me know what you think:). **

**Have a nice weekend. **


	9. Chapter 9 When angels deserve to die

**When angels deserve to die**

**This actually turned out to be the last chapter. I really felt that I could have written so much more, but I didn't want the story to drag on forever. And with the nature of Angelus's and Buffy's discussion in this chapter I felt it was time to end this story. **

**Thanks to all of you who have stayed with me this long, and especially a thanks for all the reviews and positive reactions. This was my first complete fanfic so don't judge too harshly;).**

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><p>Angelus opened his eyes, and to his utter amazement found that he was chained up and laying on a bed. As he turned his head he saw that he was actually in his old apartment in Sunnydale, and to his horror the Slayer was sitting at the other end of the bed reading. Was the part about him fighting lots of demons, and Spike, in a giant marble hall just another damn hallucination?<p>

"What the hell happened?", he grunted as he tried to shift into a more comfortable position, something he found was impossible with all the damn chains.

"We found you hugging a dead demon and calling it Buffy.", Buffy answered as she leafed through her magazine. "So Wesley senior tranquilized you so we could take you back to the hotel. And as we found out, the stuff was strong enough to keep you knocked out for enough time for me and Will to see the sights and fly you back home in the luggage compartment.".

She flashed him an evil grin as he stared at her with an open mouth. How dared they transport the scourge of Europe as simple luggage? They were going to pay for this, big time.

"Where's Spike?", he muttered, trying to look somewhere else but at her, something his rigid condition and his propped up manner made it hard to do.

"You smashed him up pretty bad, but he's OK. I think he and Giles are still working with that Shanshu scroll.". She hadn't looked up at him a single time, and as she finished her magazine about European fashion, she picked up another one about shoes.

"And why am I chained up?", Angelus growled in between gritted teeth, this helplessness really getting on his nerves.

"Cause you're the body of my lovely ex and I intend for Willow to curse you again. Perhaps she might even do a more permanent job this time.". This time she flashed him her evil little smile again, making Angelus face paler than usual.

"You wouldn't! You can't!", he yelled hoarsely, trying his best to struggle against the chains. "That's freaking rape, you're violating me with a god damned soul!".

"Oh, I'm a naughty girl Angelus,", Buffy whispered sensually, she leaned close to his face and licked her upper lip. "You know how I like to play it rough.".

She leaned back with a big smile, and propped herself back against the wall and continued reading her magazine.

"Do I at least get a final meal?", Angelus muttered darkly, already saying goodbye to his sweet life of independence, as he was about to get chained up with a soul again. Why would anyone in their right mind want to care about what they've done?

"Spike's coming by with some blood from the butcher in an hour, until then you should be quiet so I can read this article in peace.".

"I hate you.", he growled childishly, though somewhat happy that he was finally getting some blood again. At least he was happy until he realized it was probably only going to be pig's blood.

"And I love you too honey.", she answered, with her mind already back to the shoes at hand.

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><p>"Hello mate.", Spike said cheerfully as he stepped up to the bed, two brown packages under his arms. "How are we feeling today?".<p>

"Piss off Spike.", Angelus growled bitterly, staring straight ahead with murder in his eyes.

"Oh, you shouldn't use that tone to me. Especially since I've got the blood you need right here.". He held up one of the packages and picked out the plastic bucket with its dark content from within. "If you're not nice I might have to pour it all away.".

Angelus glared at him angrily, but a smile touched his lips as he saw the outlines of a bandage under Spike's shirt. Getting a sword into your heart might not kill a vampire but it sure hurt like hell, and it took quite a while to heal.

"How's the wound Willy boy?", he sneered at his grandchilde. "All better now the slayer is here to protect you?".

Spike seemed on the verge of hitting him, but Buffy gave him a cold stare that made him think otherwise. Instead of getting into a further argument with Angelus, Spike sauntered over to the kitchen to warm up his and Angelus's blood.

"Why can't you two just have a civil conversation?", Buffy asked Angelus reproachfully, her big green eyes pouring into his, and making him feel like a school kid.

"In case you haven't noticed it's never civil when two men who liked the same woman are in the same room with the woman in question.". Angelus finally stopped his staring contest with Buffy and instead closed his eyes to get some sleep. "Willy boy still loves you, you've rejected him. And now I'm here as well to complicate matters for him. Funny how things work out isn't it?".

Angelus knew that the silence in the room meant he had struck true with his words. If he was to be chained up to await his doom he might just as well make life hell for them in any way he still could.

"You must have known from the start that you were only convenient Willy.", he continued, his voice dripping with malice. "You and soldier boy were never what she wanted, you were simply at hand when the needs arose. How_ does_ it feel to be the slayers little lapdog?".

He didn't bother to open his eyes as he heard the crashing of a chair being thrown away, and the trample of fast approaching feet. He didn't even glance as he felt the weight of the slayer leave the bed, and heard how she threw Spike on his back to calm him down. When he finally opened his eyes he saw how Buffy had her knee on Spike's chest to hold him down, while she gave him a cold stare and shook her head.

"So, Buffy on top. Bet that's how it always is between you two.", he said with a smirk on his lips, and it grew into an evil grin as he saw how Spike tried even more frantically to get close to him. "Ah, I remember Buffy and mine little escapades in the bedroom. Of course the whole time deal took away her memories, but you wouldn't believe me when I told you what we did together.".

"What bloody time deal?" Spike roared, his face red with the effort to get Buffy off of him.

"I was actually human for a day. Didn't I tell you?", he caught Buffy's amazed gaze and smiled happily. Buffy's sudden movement away from his chest made it possible for Spike to finally push Buffy away, but as he stood up Buffy quickly moved between him and the bed.

"For some reason soul boy didn't want to be happy, so he took away the day. That left him with the same pissed Buffy standing there, accusing him of saving her life.". Angelus made a disapproving noise with his tongue as he shook his head. "You really can't make anything right with this girl. Either you're supposed to be here more, or not at all. Well, since she's trying to put my soul back in permanently, don't you think that means she wants me here permanently as well?".

He looked up at the guilty expression in Buffy's face, and then at the completely broken look on Spike's.

"You should answer that Buffy, for both mine and Spike's sake. You want soul boy here with you permanently, and then you're going to toss little Willy away.", he winked at Spike as he gave his final deadly words. "Your services are no longer required Willy.".

And as Spike looked from the smiling Angelus, to the deeply guilty looking Buffy, his world slowly dissolved. Spike shook his head and disappeared out the door, Angelus's laugh ringing in his ears.

Buffy turned back to Angelus, and slapped him hard across the face. His laugh dying away as he looked at her furious face.

"What the hell was that good for?", she asked him as she gave him another powerful slap, making his head feel as if someone had hit it with a sledge. "Why can't you just accept your fate and keep quiet till we get you fixed? Do you have to hurt everyone you meet?".

She sat down at the end of the bed and eyed him with an acid look, her hands unconsciously twirling the stake in her pocket.

"You know that you've forgotten one very important thing, right?", Angelus asked as he tried to move his jaw around to get some feeling back into his face.

"And what's that genius?", she spat bitterly as she once again assumed her place at the foot of the bed.

"The weight of the soul.", Angelus answered calmly, his face back into a stony expression.

"What do you mean?", Buffy asked with a slight laugh. "You think you're going to gain weight when we put it back?".

"Not talking about physical weight, I'm talking about emotional. When I drank from the cup I only _thought_ I had a soul, and it almost killed me. Imagine then what soul boy is going to do.". He gave her an evil smile as he saw his message sink in.

"What do you mean?", she asked, trying not to get riled up by his words. But he seemed to spot all the flaws in a plan and in a human instantly.

"The last time I got my soul back and was confronted with my deeds you had to stop me from burning in the morning light. This time I have done so many more evil things; killing my son, killing Faith, killing my best friends, killing the girl I loved.".

"When did you kill me?", Buffy asked astonished.

"Not you, Cordelia. Or didn't you know that soul boy had replaced you with her?". His smile widened as he saw her blush and look down at her hands. "Thought you were the only girl in his life? Hahahaha, how wrong one can be huh? Think of all these things I have done, and imagine it hitting soul boy all at once. Do you really think he's going to be able to live with himself?".

Buffy didn't answer, she just sat there and fiddled with the sheet. She remembered how Angel had tried to find a meaning with his existence from the moment he had been confronted with his past, and how it had driven him away from her. During their first two years together, apart from when he was evil, she had been his reason to fight the good fight. Then the legendary monster had become an equally legendary hero of good, but far away from her.

And she still woke up some nights and thought Angel was standing on top of that hill, ready to let the sun take his life.

She looked up at Angelus, who was still smiling at her. She knew that he was right, Angel would not be able to live with himself if he got all that guilt hammered into his mind all at once. Well, she reasoned, that only meant that he was going to stay put in those chains until he came to turns with the fact that he wasn't responsible for Angelus's actions.

"I'm just going to keep him chained until he realizes it wasn't his fault.", she said aloud, making Angelus laugh with glee.

"You think we are separate? That we are two persons who share the same body? That you can simply drag one person out and leave the other behind?", he shook his head as he looked into her eyes. "I am Angel, and I am Angelus. The difference is that the soul makes me care, I am still the same person with or without it. What I hate, I also hate with a soul. What I love, I also love with a soul. And what I crave, I also crave with a soul. We are simply two sides of the same coin, and I am always there, even if the soul keeps me back, I whisper and I drive the hunger from within. And when the blood lust sets in, we are one again. Why do you think he's such an astonishing fighter? Because I am the lust for battle within him, and the lust for you as well.".

Buffy stared at him, and suddenly she realized why she couldn't make herself kill him. He was Angel, his manners and his words might be darker, but he was still the same person underneath all of that. But the reason she loved him so much wasn't because of his good looks, or his charm (even though they were definitely a perk). But because his soul was the most amazing thing about him, his love and his compassion was greater than anyone she knew. He helped those who no one wanted to help, he forgave everything and anything, he was unselfish in every aspect of his life. And that had all been enhanced even more by his time away from her, because she was his everything when he was around her, and so he couldn't make the hard choices when she was at risk.

"If you are the same person as Angel," she said with a trembling voice, but her gaze was steady as she stared at him. "Then tell me if you love me.".

"I don't.", Angelus grunted, but he couldn't shift away from her. And so she grabbed his head and leaned closer to him and searched his eyes for the truth.

"Give me the truth Angelus.", She whispered to him. "Do you still love me, as Angel loved me?".

Her calm voice, and her words of affection made him remember all the pain and joy of love. He remembered how he had kissed her at her bedroom window, how he'd walked with her through the dark graveyards with a feeling of unending joy, their first kiss, how he had given up his humanity to save her, and how the news of her death had torn up a hole in his heart. He remembered all that, and he didn't care. The memories of love were not his, the feelings were alien to him and he was sick of it.

"I hate you with every fiber of my being. If I ever escape these chains I will rip you and your wee little friends into bloody messes.". His old Irish accent began to surface as he finally felt his old self surface. The stallion who had slaughtered his way through Europe with his blond bride, the reaper in the night, the scourge, the legendary Angelus.

And he pressed against his chains with all his might, he felt them creak under the pressure. Buffy's eyes widened in fear as she saw how he suddenly seemed possessed by a strength she had never seen in a vampire before. And before her eyes he burst through the chains, just as she heard Giles entering.

"Willow is almost finished with the spell. Probably won't take more than a few minutes.", Giles called to Buffy, but was taken back as he saw Buffy flying through the room to hit the opposite wall.

"So little red is doing her thing, is she?", Angelus asked as he stepped out of the bed.

He wore his black leather pants, and a torn black shirt. But with his face in its demon visage his ripped clothing only made him look more like a beast.

"Why don't you tell me where she is?". He ran across the room and threw Giles at the desk, while he kicked the door shut. "Come on Giles, don't make me torture you again.".

He advanced on Giles, and picked up a metal ink pen from the desk. And when he leaned down to the barely conscious Giles, he struck the pen into the older man's knee, making Giles scream in agony. He continued to stab him in dozens of places, making Giles screams last longer and longer as he twisted the pen in the wounds.

"Come on Giles, where is she?".

"How... How could you brake through the chains?", Giles hissed in pain, trying to buy Willow some time to finish the spell.

"It's October 4th today Giles, and you haven't given me any blood in more than three days. You know what that means.". Angelus lifted the pen again, and grinned down at Giles with all the malice of a demon looking at a helpless victim.

"Saint Vigeous day.", Giles muttered, before Angelus finally lost his patience and snapped the mans neck.

"Well slayer, it seems that it's only you and me now.", Angelus sauntered over to Buffy and lifted her on her feet. "Time to die lover.".

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><p>Spike was worried that Giles hadn't returned from Angel's apartment, and so he decided that he should probably go check on things. Angelus was an evil bastard and you never knew what schemes he had up his sleeve.<p>

And when he opened the door he knew he had been right.

The room was total chaos, with broken furniture and glass all over the floor. Giles was laying in the rubble that remained of the desk, with his head in an unnatural angle, and a swollen purple tongue. But what sent shivers of fear along his spine was the sight of Angelus, holding an unconscious Buffy in his arms, ready to strike at her neck.

With a roar of rage Spike launched himself at Angelus, knocking him away from Buffy and sending him rolling into a corner. But Angelus seemed stronger and faster than ever before, his eyes no longer yellow, but a clear shining read. And to his horror Spike realized that Angelus was in a berserker rage, and that he wasn't going to stop until he either was killed or drained the blood of every single being he met.

"It's saint Vigeous then?", Spike asked as he circled the heavily breathing Angelus. "How did you know?".

"She was reading today's newspaper, caught a glance of the date.", Angelus answered through gritted teeth.

"And of course we haven't fed you any blood for the last couple of days. How stupid of us.".

"No time for chit chat Willy, time to join the librarian.", Angelus hissed, and then he threw himself at Spike.

Spike wasn't used to this kind of battle, usually it was him who threw himself into the fight in a mindless rage. But Angelus was completely lost in the blood lust, and he was much stronger than Spike, which for Spike meant that this was going to be a short fight. The only thing he could hope for was that Willow's spell was going to kick in as soon as possible.

Alas, that didn't happen. Angelus twisted Spike's right arm, then broke his knee, and finally ripped out the younger vampires throat. Leaving him gurgling in a pool of his own blood, much the way he had done with Cordelia. Angelus then walked over to the remains of the desk, and there he found a big splinter. He then walked back to Spike, leaned close to the younger vampire's ear as he placed the splinter atop of his heart and whispered to him;

"Your services are no longer required.". And with a diabolical laugh he pushed the splinter into Spike's heart, his body dissolving into ashes within seconds.

After this display of force he walked over to Buffy, but she regained consciousness as he loomed over her. She kicked him in the stomach, and sent him flying into the wall, jumping up on her feet in a quick motion. As she took in the devastation of the place, and the dead body of her watcher. Tears of fury began to run down her face.

"I told you I would rip your friends into bloody messes.", Angelus said triumphantly as he rose from the ground, ripping off his shirt in the process.

Buffy saw the dust pile, and the splinter in its midst, and she knew who the second fatality was. She attacked Angelus with a blur of punches and kicks, that sent him flying from one end o the room to the other. But the red fire in his eyes didn't abate, and he didn't seem to notice the punishment he was receiving. Instead he attacked again and again, receiving punches that would have killed any lesser being every time.

Finally she took his head and rammed it into the concrete wall, and his body went slack as he slid onto the floor. Buffy then turned around and took the splinter from the ground, and placed the point on his chest. He breathed heavily, blood streaming from several deep cuts and injuries, but he was still smiling.

"Do it.", he muttered, as he spat out a mouthful of blood. "End this once and for all. You know I'm just a mindless monster.".

And as he said that he changed back into his human face, and looked up at her with his brown eyes.

"Kill me Buffy.".

Her hands trembled with rage, tears streamed down her face as she forced the splinter into his skin, and a thin stream of blood trailed down his chest.

"I want to kill you. But you are not Angel, and when Angel comes back I'm going to make sure you never return. You are never going to hurt anyone ever again.", she rose to her feet, and raised her fist to knock him out.

But then a light streamed into his eyes, and she stayed her trembling hand. Angelus felt what was happening, and in a last desperate move, he threw himself at her with his fangs extended.

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><p>Angel looked around at the room. It was total chaos! Every piece of furniture broken, and even the desk was split into small pieces. He didn't remember any of this happening, everything from the last months seemed to be blurred and unfamiliar.<p>

Then suddenly everything came smashing back into his scull. Killing his friends, his son, Faith, the murder of Xander and his girl, the battle of Sunnydale, the murdering throughout Europe and all his previous deeds as well. Tears streamed down his face as he fell to his knees, he clutched his head with his hands as if he could tear out all the pain from his soul. He felt as if he was burning up from the inside out, the faces and the screams filled his head as he screamed for the pain to stop.

He sat there for what seemed like hours, screaming in pain and agony, until he finally found enough resolve to open his eyes again. And what he saw pierced his heart like a sword. Only a few feet away from him Buffy laid with her eyes wide open, a last look of surprise etched into her face, and her throat was ripped open. The pool of blood in which she lay had turned her golden hair into a brown-red mess.

And so Angel was hit by the final, and most devastating, memory of his past actions. The blood had drained from his face altogether as he crept over to her side. He lifted her head and stared into her green eyes, those bright green eyes he had loved so much. He had only wanted to find out about the beast, he had told them to keep him locked up, but they had let him out of his cage. And finally Angelus had got what he wanted, he had beaten the slayer.

There were no more tears left in Angel as he gently cradled her in his arms, whispering nonsensical words of love to her. If he could he would burn down the world to have her back alive again, but he knew she was in heaven again, the place her friends had torn her out of. He couldn't help but remember his first words to her; "I don't bite.". Well he was proven wrong now. Xander and Giles had been right to hate him, he had given her nothing but pain and anguish, and now he had even taken her life.

He rose to his feet, carrying Buffy in his arms, and turned to the door. He opened it, and slowly and carefully walked outside into the alley. As he ascended the steps to the streets above, he began to smile. She was in heaven at last, and all he could do for her now was to bring her where she had always been the most beautiful.

"I wanted for someone else to take care of you. And they did, all I did was destroy and hurt those you loved.", he whispered to her as he reached the final doorway. "At least let me be the one to take you into the light.".

As he said that he gently opened the door, and stepped out into the bright light outside.

It was a beautiful day, not a single cloud in the sky.

He held his head high as the sun hit his face. He didn't even feel the pain, and he barely noticed as his body slowly caught fire. He smiled happily as he looked down on her face, in the sunlight she seemed alive again. He gave her a final kiss as he slowly put her down on the ground, and he finally dissolved into ashes.

A summer breeze carried his ashes into the sky just as Willow rounded a corner together with Tara, happily chatting about weather Buffy and Angel were going to get back together again or not.

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><p><strong>So here it is. We finally arrived at the end. <strong>

**Please review and let me know what you thought about my first complete fanfic:)**

**I have a new fanfic that's a rewrite of season 4 of Buffy and season 1 of Angel out, but I think its going to take a while before I start writing it in earnest. **

**First up will be a story inspired by Bram Stokers; Dracula, where Buffy is going to be the main protagonist together with the infamous Vlad Tepec' (Spike and Angel are also going to star in it). I'm currently only at the beginning of the story so it's probably going to take a week or two before its out there. Loads of battles, sexual themes, Gothic romance and evil deeds to be expected.**


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